Stanford Financial

  • 20 Feb 2009 at 3:06 PM

Sir Allen “Man With The Golden Gun” Stanford

By

jamesbondisland.jpgApparently, Sir Allen was working on a “private island” development for all his favorite victims pals. Thirty estates, exclusivity, undisclosed location. All we need now is to blow up Tim Geithner’s seaplane with a solar powered laser and for Nick Nack to show up and start tempting regulators into a funhouse gun battle on the Man With The Golden Gun’s private island. (Of course, that island was near Thailand, not the Caribbean, but still- you get the point).

Scheduled to open in 2011, it would have featured the largest private aviation complex in the world, Forbes said, with enough room to park 100 private jets as well as a jumbo marina with enough dock space for 30 massive yachts. The super-exclusive resort would require members to shell out a $50 million deposit, which would be refunded if they left the development. That was on top of the $15 million annual membership fee.

No word on the actual presence of a solar powered laser on the island, but we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. Stanford was nothing if not environmentally conscious.
Allen Stanford’s Mystery Island [Dealbook]

  • 19 Feb 2009 at 8:21 AM

Now The Wives Picture Makes Sense. He Had The Best Stuff Around.

By

Picture 738.pngYou can’t tell me you didn’t at least suspect it a little bit. Can you? I mean look at that picture. Those are not the looks of a group unable to find good stimulants.

The SEC’s fraud charges may be the least of accused financial scammer R. Allen Stanford’s worries. Federal authorities tell ABC News that the FBI and others have been investigating whether Stanford was involved in laundering drug money for Mexico’s notorious Gulf Cartel.

Accused Financier Under Federal Drug Investigation [ABC News]

  • 18 Feb 2009 at 5:10 PM

Stanford Flies Free!

By

Aside from grim speculation that he may or may not have been on a NetJets flight from Houston to Antigua, no one has a fucking clue where Stanford is- but that’s not for lack of trying.

U.S. marshals assisting the SEC have been unable to serve Stanford with court orders freezing assets and appointing a receiver to run his Stanford Financial Group companies since a raid on his Houston headquarters Tuesday, Garber said.
Garber said she was unaware of any warrants for Stanford’s arrest and said the SEC was still hoping for his voluntary cooperation on the civil fraud charges.
“Certainly he is still subject to the court orders. To that extent, we certainly want to ensure that he is served,” Garber said. She said two executive who were charged with Stanford, Laura Pendergest-Holt and Jim Davis, had been served.

Finally, someone seems to have read How To Properly Escape Capture Following Your Massive (or Relatively Massive) Financial Fraud: A Dealbreaker Guide. Of course, this “he’s gone” talk is coming from the SEC which would be unable to find its own ass with a full-length mirror and a multilingual diagram. Either that, or the speculation that Stanford has been enjoying the help of certain Federal agencies has some merit. We wondered before why Sir Allen should have such a large presence in Venezuela and Ecuador.
Hmmmm.

Stanford whereabouts unknown after charges: SEC [Reuters]

  • 17 Feb 2009 at 10:58 AM

“I’ll Take The Case!”

By

Don’t worry. The regulators are on it like white on rice. They are screaming through materials on “island time,” baby. Yes, yes, sure, they heard the screams, but they never looked before because the neighbors never complained. Now that blood is running under the door into the sidewalk, however, they’ve decided to take matters in hand and apply for a search warrant. The judge, however, is on vacation until next week so, we’ll have to wait until then to open the door. Don’t worry. They’ve flown in experts from Sarasota to assist in the investigation. Until they arrive, they will just play trivial pursuit with the prime suspect. (What was Columbo’s first name?)

Antigua and Barbuda regulators will quiz Stanford International Bank officials about issues raised in press reports, but have not launched a formal investigation of the Caribbean nation’s largest bank, in part because no customers have complained, the top regulator told Reuters on Friday.

Antigua regulator to quiz Stanford [Reuters]
Earlier: Dear Aspiring White Collar Criminal…

  • 13 Feb 2009 at 11:44 AM

Get Me Short The Bolivian Marching Futures

By

Yes, we know it’s just “former disgruntled employees” (shouldn’t that be disgruntled former employees?) but doesn’t it look a bit… suspicious to have such a strong Colombian and Venezuelan presence? Yes yes, it’s only a “representative office,” I know, I know. Just sayin’ is all.

Continue reading »

  • 13 Feb 2009 at 10:55 AM

Stanford Not Going Down Without A Fight

By

scoob1.jpgYou know, it would be amusing (in a not at all funny way) if this whole Stanford thing turned out to be much ado about nothing. Could it be that it really was “former disgruntled employees”?

R. Allen Stanford, the billionaire chairman of Houston-based investment firm Stanford Group Co., blamed “former disgruntled employees” for stoking regulatory probes into his firm.
Stanford Group is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because they didn’t want to put their jobs at risk. The agencies are examining the company’s sales of certificates of deposit issued by its Antigua-based affiliate, Stanford International Bank Ltd., and the consistent, above- average returns those investments paid, the people said.
“We are all aware that former disgruntled employees have gone to the regulators questioning our work and our processes,” Stanford said yesterday in an e-mail to staff members that was obtained by Bloomberg News. “This could have compounded an otherwise routine examination.”
Investigators from Finra visited six Stanford Group offices last month, downloaded information from computer hard drives and looked through files, the people said.

“And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for those pesky disgruntled employees!”
Stanford Blames ‘Former Disgruntled’ Workers in Probe [Bloomberg]

  • 12 Feb 2009 at 10:49 AM

Today’s Ponzi Trifecta?

By

Named after university known more for golf courses than scholarship? Check.
$50 billion in assets? Check.
Substantial overseas AUM? Check.
More than double the rate of return for similar investments? Check.
Limited details on investing strategy? Check.
Small, obscure auditor? Check.
Retribution for questions about investment strategy? Check.
Hmmmm.
Is Stanford Financial’s Offer Too Good to Be True? [Businessweek]