HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Allen Stanford, the alleged  swindler who is being held in solitary confinement in a federal  jail, fell ill during a hearing yesterday where a judge  denied the U.S. government’s request to set a trial date.

Stanford, who has been taken to the hospital twice since  his arrest on June 19, began spitting blood into tissues and a  cup during the hearing, a condition his attorney described as a  persistent and undiagnosed.

“They’ve checked him out and he appeared to be OK,” Kent  Schaffer, Stanford’s attorney told reporters after the hearing  in federal court in Houston.

At the status hearing which was temporarily held up by  Stanford’s condition, U.S District Judge David Hittner said  defense attorneys on the case need more time to prepare.

“You will get a trial date set by me after the next  conference,” Hittner said, adding that the next hearing will  likely be in December.

Stanford, 59, was arrested on June 18 and faces 21 criminal  counts. He is accused of masterminding an alleged $7 billion  scheme where fraudulent certificates of deposit from an  Antiguan bank were sold to clients.

It was Stanford’s first court appearance since he suffered  a mild concussion, broken nose and two black eyes in a prison  brawl last month while detained at the Joe Corley Detention  Facility in Conroe, Texas.