Ponzi-Schemer Stanford Loses Appeal for Compassionate Release

Convicted financial fraudster Robert Allen Stanford lost his appeal for compassionate release, after the Fifth Circuit said it was satisfied the district court didn’t abuse its discretion in denying the motion.

The appeals court had previously ordered a limited remand of the case to allow the district court to flesh out its reasons for denying the request.

In doing so, the district court said that, even if Stanford were eligible for compassionate release, sentencing factors—including the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant—counseled against granting it.

Stanford’s crimes—misappropriating $7 billion from investors in Stanford International Bank—were “unprecedented and affected a countless number of victims,” the district court said.

After the case was remanded, the court-appointed receiver in the case filed notice stating that Stanford was obstructing efforts to compensate his victims. Stanford has an unsatisfied $5.9 billion restitution order, according to the district court.

Stanford responded by filing supplemental briefing to the appeals court, claiming that the district court violated his due process rights by considering inadmissible evidence. But the Federal Rules of Evidence don’t apply at sentencing, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said in the unpublished Monday decision.

This is Stanford’s third failed bid for early release since he was sentenced in 2012 to 110 years in prison on multiple counts of mail fraud and conspiracy.

He has also exhausted multiple appeals and motions challenging his conviction and sentence.

Stanford is representing himself.

The case is United States v. Stanford, 5th Cir., No. 22-20388, unpublished 10/9/23.