Allen Stanford Missing: Federal Authorities Do Not Know His Whereabouts - 8 Billion bilked from clie

Allen Stanford Missing: Federal Authorities Do Not Know His Whereabouts - 8 Billion bilked from clients

www.huffingtonpost.com

According to ABC News, federal authorities do not know the current whereabouts of Texas banker R. Allen Stanford, who was accused Tuesday by the SEC of trying to bilk some 50,000 customers out of $8 billion. His apparent disappearance comes despite raids Tuesday of Stanford's offices in Houston, Memphis, and Tupelo, Miss.

ABC also reports that federal authorities say the case could grow as big as the $50 billion ponzi scheme allegedly perpetrated by Bernie Madoff

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Another Huge Ponzi scheme exposed, authorities say it could rise to the ranks of Madoff's scheme.

I would like to know, where the people have been who are suppose to oversee all these "investment houses"!

How is it possible they are looked over by the SEC?

How many more are out there? If I had money with "investment houses" I would be looking very closely at pulling it.

another link is about his political connections:
www.huffingtonpost.com...

Over the last ten years, R. Allen Stanford -- the Texas billionaire charged by the SEC today with "massive fraud" -- and his companies have spent at least $5 million on lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions to a bipartisan group of congressional leaders.

The heavy political spending comes despite Stanford's history of run-ins with federal regulators dating back at least to 1999, when he caught the attention of the State Department for his role in tightening the already-secretive banking laws of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua.

He sure did spend a lot of money on lobbying, makes me wonder for what? Lobbying for more relaxed laws in investing?

Stanford gave an additional $100,000 to the Bush Inaugural Committee - as the new administration prepared its own money laundering strategy. More stringent controls were not proposed. Instead, the Treasury Department went to work watering down reporting requirements that are considered burdensome by many (including Stanford) in the financial services industry.61 In August, Treasury changed its tax shelter regulations to allow corporations to avoid some reporting requirements in an attempt to "ease tax administration."

He had very high up political connections it seems - through money.

Though tough anti-money-laundering legislation overwhelmingly sailed through the House Banking Committee in 2000, it had difficulty getting to another vote as powerful GOP lawmakers -- then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey, then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay and then-Senate Banking Committee chair Phil Gramm stymied its future.

DeLay was among the largest recipients of Stanford's largesse. And "DeLay's committees paid for flights on Stanford's jets at least 16 times since 2003, including on Oct. 20, the day the former House majority leader was booked in a Houston courthouse on money-laundering charges," according to Bloomberg News.

Stanford Financial or its employees also contributed to the legal defense funds of three lawmakers tarnished by ethics allegations -- DeLay, Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli, Republican Bob Ney.

In recent years, Stanford has been especially active. In the 2008 election cycle, Stanford Financial Group's PAC contributed to a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, current White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and House Ways & Means Committee chairman Charles Rangel.

He worked both sides of the isle...... how much did they have the SEC not look too closely at him?






www.huffingtonpost.com
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Reports surfaced in early February 2009 that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a major private-sector oversight body, were investigating Stanford's company Stanford Financial Group, questioning the way that Stanford International Bank manages to consistently make higher than market returns to its depositors.

Oh, so now days, if you make higher than "Average" returns, you get investigated?
Wow what a free market economy this is huh.

Federal agents raided the offices of Stanford Financial on February 17, 2009, and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Allen Stanford with "massive ongoing fraud" centred on an eight billion dollar investment scheme.Stanford's assets along with those of his companies were frozen and placed into receivership by a U.S. federal judge.

Here we go, he was actually MAKING money for his investors.
And the government doesn't like Americans earning lots of tax free offshore money.
So they went ahead and stole it all.

[edit on 18-2-2009 by BorgHoffen]

I happen to be good friends with a former Antiguan Government official's daughter. I talked to her yesterday about this guy, and she spoke with her father last night, but haven't heard anything yet. This Allen Stanford is apparently a big hit in Antigua, he owns lots of real estate and I thought I even heard an airport... And he was knighted by their government years back. I'm hoping this guy will have rubbed elbows with Sir Allen and maybe have the inside scoop about whats going on. Keep our fingers crossed!

Yep. They said to expect more of these. Maybe he went to Switzerland to get his loot.