R. Allen Stanford, who is accused of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, on Monday asked a federal judge in Houston to dismiss all charges against him, claiming the court-appointed receiver and SEC have been assistingfederal prosecutors. R. Allen Stanford, who is accused of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, on Monday asked a federal judge in Houston to dismiss all charges against him, claiming the court-appointed receiver and Securities and Exchange Commission have been assisting federal prosecutors and have stripped him of his ability to defend himself.
Stanford and three former executives of the Stanford Financial Group Cos. were indicted in June of last year by a federal grand jury in Houston. Stanford, who denies wrongdoing, is scheduled to stand trial alone in January. Stanford Group Chief Financial Officer James M. Davis has pleaded guilty to aiding the scheme.
In court filings Stanford claims prosecutors "acted in concert" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a court-appointed receiver to strip Stanford of his ability to defend himself, Bloomberg reports. The government is using receiver Ralph Janvey's "army of private lawyers, forensic accountants and other consultants," funded through the liquidation of Stanford's multibillion-dollar estate, to prepare the criminal case against him, Stanford's lawyers said. Bloomberg also noted:
An analysis of Janvey's billing records by the Brewer Law Group, which is defending Stanford in the SEC case, found that Janvey and his team have spent 1,198 hours assisting the FBI, 1,031 hours aiding the Justice Department and 3,977 additional hours assisting other government entities investigating and prosecuting Stanford, according to the filing.
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