New York (HedgeCo.Net) – R. Allen Stanford’s fate may be up in the air with a looming trial and the accusations of a major Ponzi scheme, but that didn’t stop him from opening up to ABC News cameras outside of a Houston restaurant.

In a short-lived but candid interview, Stanford went from aggressive to tearful while he denied the accusations being brought forth by the SEC.

When asked why he has being targeted, Stanford confidentially replied, “I think the government failed in their oversight, and I am the maverick, rich Texan they can put the moose head on the wall.”

Stanford was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17 after allegedly orchestrating an $8 billion fraud centered around a CD program.  His companies, which include Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, Stanford Group Company and Stanford Capital Management, were also named in the complaint.

“Stanford and the close circle of family and friends with whom he runs his businesses perpetrated a massive fraud based on false promises and fabricated historical return data to prey on investors," said the original complaint by the SEC.

“If it was a Ponzi scheme, why are they finding billions and billions of dollars all over the place?” Stanford asked.  “I will die and go to hell if it’s a Ponzi scheme.”

The Texas billionaire, who has been knighted and dubbed “Sir Allen” in the Caribbean, says he expects to be indicted by a grand jury in a few weeks.

When asked if he lived frugally, Stanford replied, “I’ve always lived frugally.  I flew around in a private jet and I had a boat, but I always lived frugally.”

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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Tags: abc news, accredited-investors, billions and billions, candid interview, capital-management, cd program, false promises, hedgeco, houston restaurant, massive-fraud, moose head, ponzi scheme, private jet, r allen, securities-and-exchange-commission, stanford group company, texas billionaire

Bloomberg – Stanford Group Co.’s court-appointed receiver and securities regulators asked a U.S. judge to deny requests by hundreds of investors to join the regulatory lawsuit at the heart of an $8 billion fraud investigation.

The receiver, Ralph Janvey, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday filed papers in federal court in Dallas opposing the requests by more than 45 groups of investors and creditors who have asked permission to join the SEC’s suit against R. Allen Stanford.

“Allowing all the investors to intervene in the enforcement action would destroy any hope for an efficient distribution of assets,” Janvey said in a court filing late yesterday. He said he’s working “as quickly as possible to release more accounts through a certification process” designed to free all frozen funds not directly linked to the suspected fraud.

Most of the groups asking to join the SEC’s fraud case are investors whose brokerage accounts were frozen along with Stanford’s personal and corporate assets when regulators sued the Texas financier, two associates and three affiliated companies on Feb. 17. Stanford is suspected of orchestrating the fraud through the sale of high-yield certificates of deposit by Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.

Last week, Janvey won court approval to release $4.6 billion from about 28,000 frozen brokerage accounts. U.S. District Judge David Godbey extended the freeze on more than $1 billion in about 4,000 remaining Stanford accounts, most of which belong to Stanford employees or executives or are linked to investments issued by the Antiguan bank.

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Tags: affiliated companies, bloomberg, brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, corporate assets, court approval, creditors, david godbey, district judge david, financier, fraud case, fraud investigation, high yield certificates of deposit, judge david godbey, r allen, securities-and-exchange-commission, stanford accounts, stanford employees, stanford group

Bloomberg – Gather round, children, to hear about the investments you’ve been waiting for. They suggest that you might get positive returns in any economic climate, regardless of whether stocks are going up or down.

Wait — don’t run! It’s not Bernard Madoff or even R. Allen Stanford, the mini-Madoff, who allegedly bilked savers out of $8 billion in supposedly high-rate certificates of deposit. It’s sanctified by hedge funds and brought to you by America’s finest financial engineers. What could be more inspirational than that?

I’m talking about the mutual funds whose investment strategies aim to be “market neutral” or to deliver “absolute returns.” Morningstar in Chicago, which publishes fund data, currently has 28 of them on its list, up from a handful five years ago.

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Tags: absolute-returns, bernard madoff, certificates of deposit, economic climate, financial engineers, handful, investment strategies, investments, morningstar, mutual funds, r allen, stanford, stocks