He Ran An $8 Billion Ponzi Scheme And Is Now Serving 110 Years Behind Bars For Defrauding Thousands Of Investors

When his $8 billion Ponzi scheme was exposed, Allen Stanford, a Texas billionaire known for his lavish lifestyle and extravagant promises, was reduced to a life behind bars. He is serving 110 years in prison for defrauding thousands of investors. His fraudulent scheme is the second largest in history.
Stanford came from humble roots. He was born in 1950 to a lower-middle-class family in the town of Mexia, Texas. He started out as an insurance salesman and a bookkeeper. Eventually, he rose to be a successful investment manager. He handled billions of dollars in assets from investors.
In 1991, he founded the Stanford Financial Group in Antigua, becoming the largest employer on the Caribbean island. At its peak, the Stanford Financial Group had clients from 140 countries and assets of $50 billion.
In 2006, Stanford was knighted by the Antiguan government and was referred to by the title of “Sir.” By 2008, Stanford was worth about $2.2 billion and was one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in America.
When he was arrested in 2010, his knighthood was revoked. He was convicted in 2012 of a $8 billion Ponzi scheme involving certificates of deposits (CDs).
Stanford used the money that investors put toward CDs at his Stanford International Bank to fund a lifestyle of opulence and his own risky investments.
His empire was built on the allure of extraordinary returns and prestigious cricket tournaments.
In a lawsuit, Stanford’s investors claimed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had missed or ignored signs of his scandal for years.
In 1997, the agency conducted investigations into Stanford’s operations and found suspicious activity.

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They also suspected Stanford of making deals with Mexican drug cartels. However, charges were not brought against him until 2009.
Stanford maintained that he was innocent and his businesses were legitimate. He insisted that he was being framed and was a scapegoat of the SEC after their mishandling of the Madoff case, the largest financial fraud of all time.
A federal jury in Houston disagreed, and he was convicted in 2012 on 13 felony counts. He is currently serving a 110-year sentence at a high-security prison in Florida.
He was also ordered to forfeit about $5.9 billion, which would be paid back to his 18,000 investors. However, the victims still haven’t received the money they are owed since the process of settling lawsuits is slow going.
Stanford’s downfall was a shock to the financial world. Not only was his fraudulent activity a huge blow to his investors, but it also destroyed Antigua’s economy. The island of Antigua depended on Stanford’s empire for jobs.
He had developed much of the land there and employed many people. The collapse of the Stanford Financial Group led to the loss of thousands of jobs, and businesses that relied on the company’s patronage were forced to close down.
Stanford is still trying to clear his name. He has petitioned the court from prison several times. In his most recent petition, he demanded that the FBI director during his prosecution be questioned over alleged mishandling of evidence.
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