Texas financier R. Allen Stanford has been indicted on fraud and obstruction charges in a $7 billion investment scam, the Justice Department announced today.
Three other Stanford company executives were also named in the indictment.
Stanford was arrested by FBI agents yesterday outside his girlfriend’s home in Virginia.
According to the indictment unsealed today, Stanford and his co-defendants defrauded investors who bought $7 billion in certificates of deposit administered by Stanford International Bank in Antigua. About $1.6 billion allegedly was diverted in personal loans to Stanford.
Stanford and the other execs are accused of lying about the bank’s assets, saying that they grew from $1.2 billion in 2001 to approximately $8.5 billion in December 2008.
Also charged were Laura Pendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group; Gilberto Lopez, chief accounting officer; Mark Kuhrt, global controller; and Leroy King, the former administrator and CEO of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission.
Pendergest-Holt was previously charged with misleading investigators in their probe of Stanford International Bank’s dealings.
Stanford and three of his companies were named in an SEC civil lawsuit in February, accused of conducting a Ponzi scheme involving billions of dollars of investor funds.
The commission said Stanford and “the close circle of family and friends with whom he runs his businesses” had fraudulently promised investors high returns, based on fabricated profits from past years.
After the suit was filed, Stanford’s companies were placed in receivership and ceased operations. Office furnishings and artwork are being sold off by liquidators.
James M. Davis, former chief financial officer of Stanford Financial and Stanford’s former roommate at Baylor University, is cooperating with investigators.
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1 Comments
#1. sirgeraldbirkin 08.08.2009
Before Inzon, there was Elandia. Victims of Elandia fraud, the Ahkoy Family is now suing Elandia in Pacific and Florida courts. Elandia’s Allen Stanford and Sydney D. “Trip” Camper orchestrated the Ponzi scheme against Datec, the Ahkoy family business. When Elandia was exposed, Allen Stanford forced Sydney Camper to resign. In true Stanford form, Sydney Camper found his next fraud victim in Los Angeles - a private and profitable company with aspirations to go public. With the help of his new partner in crime Edward G. Berkhof, Sydney Camper formed a “shell” holding company and together they pretended to be the owners of this private company, arranged a trip to London, opened up secret bank accounts, performed an illegal hostile takeover, and ruined the los angeles company in the same fashion as Datec, the Ahkoy family business.
Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford is in the hands of the FBI while swindlers Sydney Camper and Ed Berkhof are STILL at large. Investors Beware! Sydney Camper is a fraud and uses his stamped passport, donations to St. Jude’s and Stanford Group references to gain trust. According to Google, he now hones his Ponzi skills at InZon. According to recent articles, “FMC Acquires SMS” and FMC Telecom founder Frank Cassidy is either a NEW partner in crime for Ed Berkhof OR he is simply ANOTHER victim fallen prey to Ed Berkhof’s web of lies and empty promises to “take a company public”. Ed Berkhof is neither a President, COO or Investor of anything. Ed Berkhof is a con artist and a has-been third rate bass player from Florida trying to find a payday.
The SEC and the FBI are investigating Allen Stanford’s business relatives and continuing their search for serial swindlers such as Sydney Camper and Ed Berkhof.
View links below for more information on Elandia/Ahkoy:
http://www.secinfo.com/d14D5a.v6Q98.c.htm
http://www.secinfo.com/d14D5a.v6Q98.d.htm
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