SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – Accused Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford is legally incompetent to stand trial at this time in connection with an alleged $7 billion fraud, according to a court ruling.
U.S. prosecutors accuse Stanford of creating false accounting records, lying to investors and bribing a regulatory official in Antigua. The government had opposed attempts by Stanford’s attorneys to find him incompetent.
But U.S. District Judge David Hittner found today that Stanford did not have the present mental capacity to effectively assist his attorneys in preparing a defense.
Hittner recommended that Stanford be sent to a medical facility within the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for treatment and an eventual competency exam.
An attorney for Stanford was not immediately available to comment.
