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SEC Moving to Seize Billionaire's Planes, Yachts, Bank Accounts, Homes... The billionaire banker accused of scamming $8 billion, R. Allen Stanford, was located by FBI officials today and served with civil papers by the SEC, putting an end to a nationwide search. Stanford later turned in his passport to federal prosecutors, saying "he would not flee," according to one of Stanford's lobbyists, Ben Barnes.

The billionaire banker accused of scamming $8 billion, R. Allen Stanford, was located by FBI officials today and served with civil papers by the SEC, putting an end to a nationwide search. Stanford later turned in his passport to federal prosecutors, saying "he would not flee," according to one of Stanford's lobbyists, Ben Barnes.

More than 100 members of Congress—past and present—as well as congressional campaign committees and the national parties benefited from political donations from the political action committee or employees of Stanford Financial Group since 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm’s head, R. Allen Stanford, on Tuesday with orchestrating a $8 billion fraud. Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reported on Stanford’s status as an “international cricket sponsor, Washington political donor and private banker to Latin America’s wealthy.” President Barack Obama was the third-ranking recipient among lawmakers, with $31,750 collected from company employees during...

Cricket promoter Allen Stanford linked to drugs investigation The FBI is investigating Sir Allen Stanford over possible links to a Mexican drugs cartel, according to reports. By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter, Houston Last Updated: 3:03PM GMT 19 Feb 2009 In a report screened on Wednesday night on ABC News in the US, it was claimed that Sir Allen was suspected of laundering money for the notorious Gulf cartel, and that one of his private jets was detained as part of the investigation last year. The reports come 36 hours after the Security and Exchanges Commission charged the Texan financier...

US authorities 'had been investigating Allen Stanford for 15 years' David Byers, Suzy Jagger in New York, and James Bone in Antigua American authorities have been suspicious of Allen Stanford's financial dealings for 15 years but only accelerated their investigation after the Bernard Madoff fraud was exposed, it was claimed today. As investigators continued to hunt Mr Stanford and the $50 billion (£35 billion) of assets connected to him, a financial expert said that the Texan had been on "everybody’s radar" for more than a decade. The claim, made by the journalist and author Jeffrey Robinson, came as a link...

The $8 billion scam that Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford is accused of hatching could ensnare high-profile athletes who were represented by Teddy Forstmann's management firm IMG. The Post has learned that IMG quietly agreed to steer clients looking for investment advice to Stanford Financial Group, potentially exposing them to millions of dollars in losses resulting from the financial firm's alleged fraud. According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, IMG and Stanford have a quid-pro-quo agreement under which Stanford Financial pays IMG a low- to mid-seven-figure consulting fee in exchange for IMG advising its clients - which include...

The SEC's fraud charges may be the least of accused financial scammer R. Allen Stanford's worries. Federal authorities tell ABC News that FBI and others have been investigating whether Stanford was involved in laundering drug money for Mexico's notorious Gulf Cartel. Authorities tell ABC News that as part of the investigation, which has been ongoing since last year, Mexican authorities detained one of Stanford's private planes. According to officials, checks found inside the plane were believed to be connected to the Gulf cartel, reputed to be Mexico's most violent gang. Authorities say Stanford could potentially face criminal charges of money...

Texas financier R. Allen Stanford is accused of cheating 50,000 customers out of $8 billion dollars but despite raids Tuesday of his financial empire in Houston, Memphis, and Tupelo, Miss., federal authorities say they do not know the current whereabouts of the CEO. The Securities Exchange Commission alleges Stanford ran a fraud promising investors impossible returns, much like Bernard Madoff's $50 billion alleged Ponzi scheme. Investigators Tuesday shut down and froze the assets of three of the companies Stanford controls and they say the case could grow to be as big as the Madoff scandal. Like Madoff's clients, Stanford's investors...

President Obama's campaign has given to charity a $4,600 campaign donation from fugitive money man R. Allen Stanford, who is accused of $8 billion in fraud. A former campaign aide said the president's campaign donated the money to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Obama’s decision comes after his opponent in the presidential race, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), announced he would donate the money he received from Stanford to charity. Federal investigators raided Standford's empire on Tuesday, and the Securities Exchange Commission alleges he ran a fraud similar to the Ponzi scheme run by Bernie Madoff.

The head of Stanford Financial Group charged with orchestrating an $8 billion fraud tried Tuesday to get a one-way flight out of the country, a source told CNBC. R. Allen Stanford tried to arrange the direct flight to Antigua, where his offshore banking operations are based. He contacted a private jet owner at 3 pm and attempted to pay for the flight with a credit card, but was refused because the company would only accept a wire transfer, a source in the private jet industry said. Stanford had asked to leave by 6 pm.

Texas businessman R. Allen Stanford, whose multibillion-dollar investment empire was ordered seized Monday by a federal judge, has long enjoyed big influence in Washington thanks to a steady supply of campaign contributions, Caribbean trips for lawmakers and fees to lobbying firms. Mr. Stanford and his affiliated companies have spent more than $5 million on lobbying fees since 2000, federal records show. The businessman and his top executives have also contributed at least $2 million to candidates, including key lawmakers, and additional thousands of dollars on jets and resorts. The businessman's primary goal for the last three to four years...

FEDS SAY HOUSTON BANKER OPERATED $8B SCAM Texan Sir R. Allen Stanford ran a "massive, ongoing fraud," scamming $8 billion by luring investors with unrealistically high returns on offshore bank CDs and mutual funds......and lied about his Madoff investments....... The SEC appointed a receiver to take control of Stanford Financial Group.....58-year-old Stanford's holds citizenship in the US and Antigua, the first American to be knighted by the West Indies island.... his Antigua bank----Stanford International Bank Ltd....touted "a unique investment strategy" purporting to produce double-digit returns ..........

Texan billionaire and cricket promoter Sir Allen Stanford has been charged over a $8bn (£5.6bn) investment fraud, US financial regulators say. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the financier had orchestrated "a fraudulent, multi-billion dollar investment scheme". The SEC said the fraud was "based on false promises and fabricated historical return data". English cricket bosses have pulled out of sponsorship talks with Sir Allen. The charges against Sir Allen, three of his companies and two executives of those companies followed a raid by US marshalls on the Houston, Texas, offices of Stanford Financial Group. A US judge has frozen the...

The Texas financier accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday of “massive ongoing fraud” was a generous political donor who gave more heavily to Democrats. Since 2000, R. Allen Stanford, the chief of the Stanford Financial Group in Houston, his wife and company gave $2.2 million in political contributions – $1.7 million to Democratic candidates and committees – according to Federal Election Commission records. The most recent donation on record was $300,000 from Stanford Financial Group to the Democratic Governors Association, a so-called 527 group not subject to campaign contribution limits. Other big beneficiaries included the Democrats’ congressional campaign...

SEC charges Stanford companies with massive fraud Published: Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators are charging R. Allen Stanford and three of his companies with a "massive" fraud that centered around high-interest-rate CDs. The Securities and Exchange Commission's complaint, filed in federal court in Dallas, alleges that Stanford International Bank sold about $8 billion of so-called certificates of deposit to investors by promising "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates."

BOSTON (Reuters) - Just three weeks ago, Allen Stanford was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in British sport. Now, the Texas billionaire is at the center of the latest investigation by Wall Street regulators. In recent years, the flamboyant 58-year-old financier and cricket mogul has seldom strayed far from controversy -- from tangling with leaders of Antigua where he is the biggest single investor to ruffling the well-mannered world of international cricket by cavorting with the players' girlfriends. Once described as "haughty, arrogant and obnoxious" by Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, America's 205th richest man often...

SEC charges Stanford with fraud By Stacy-Marie Ishmael in New York Published: February 17 2009 17:02 | Last updated: February 17 2009 17:02 The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged Sir Robert Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan businessmen, of a ”massive, ongoing fraud” through his Antigua-based offshore bank. Stanford International Bank, located in St John’s on the Caribbean island of Antigua, has been the focal point of much controversy in recent weeks, sparked in part by a analyst note that was highly critical of the bank’s apparent ability to deliver consistently and significantly market beating returns on its $8.5bn...