Ponzi Fraudster Stanford’s Conviction Affirmed

Former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford, now serving 110 years in prison for masterminding a decades-long $7 billion Ponzi scheme, failed Oct. 29 to persuade a federal appeals court that the charges against him were defective or that he was denied a fair trial (United States v. Stanford, 2015 BL 356734, 5th Cir., 12-20411, 10/29/15).

The trial court properly instructed the jury regarding a “scheme to defraud,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded. Judge Edith Brown Clement also rejected Stanford’s claims that the government didn’t provide him with exculpatory evidence.

In addition, she ...