The alleged Stanford fraud
Yet another alleged case of massive fraud has been uncovered. This case is all the buzz in the financial sector. If the claims are proven true, fingers will point to the laissez-faire, deregulatory environment of the recent past as a contributing factor.
Some investors put their entire live savings in Stanford CDs. They are now wiped out.
Hundreds of people lined up to withdraw money from banks in Antigua and Caracas affiliated with Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, a day after the tycoon was charged with an $8 billion fraud.
The whereabouts of the brash, 58-year-old financier were unknown. CNBC television said he tried to hire a private jet to fly from Houston, the site of his U.S. headquarters, to Antigua, but the jet lessor refused to accept his credit card.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Stanford of operating a fraud centered on the sale of certificates of deposit from his Antiguan affiliate, Stanford International Bank Ltd (SIB).
Source
Stanford depositors swarm banks – Reuters
Its not very scientific, but Stanford looked ‘wrong’. As an English cricket supporter I’ve seen a few pictures of him and video footage of his press conferences with the ECB (that’s English Cricket Board not European Central Bank!) and my instinctive reaction was ‘I wouldn’t trust him further than I could throw him’.
Trust your gut instincts. They are more often than not correct.