Stanford taken in on Ponzi allegations

TEXT OF STORY

Steve Chiotakis: Texas billionaire Allen Stanford traded in the trappings of the financial aristocracy last night for a jail cell in Virginia. Stanford surrendered to the FBI yesterday outside his girlfriend’s home and he’ll appear this morning in federal court in Richmond. More now from Marketplace’s Steve Henn.

Steve Henn: This morning, authorities will unseal an indictment handed down by a grand jury sitting in Houston, Texas.

Earlier this spring, the SEC accused Stanford in a civil lawsuit of running a $8 billion Ponzi scheme through his bank in Antigua. Stanford had been marketing high-yield certificates of deposit to wealthy clients looking for a refuge from turbulent stock markets. He allegedly used money from new investors to inflate returns.

But prior to the SEC fraud case, Stanford was best known as a high-flying, ostentatious Texan whose unlikely love of cricket was matched only by his love of the spotlight. He sponsored cricket tournaments in Antigua and trips to Bermuda for members of Congress on his private jets. Stanford still maintains his innocence.

In Washington, I’m Steve Henn for Marketplace.