HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Former billionaire Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison yesterday for running a $7 billion scheme in which he stole money from his investors to finance an extravagant lifestyle in the Caribbean. U.S. District Judge David Hittner said Stanford’s actions were among the most “egregious criminal frauds,” and investors who lost money said Stanford’s crimes were worse than those of Bernard Madoff, another Ponzi schemer.
In March, a jury convicted Stanford of 13 charges including fraud and conspiracy for selling certificates of deposit from his bank in Antigua to thousands of investors in the United States and Latin America. He had already spent some of those proceeds on yachts, girlfriends, sponsorship of a cricket tournament and other accoutrements of a high-rolling life.
Stanford denied committing fraud or running a Ponzi scheme and, in a statement that went on for 40 minutes, he blamed the U.S. government for ruining a business he said had enough assets to repay its depositors. “They destroyed it and turned it to nothing,” he said.
Stanford insisted: “I am not a thief.”
Prosecutor William Stellmach told the judge: “This is a man utterly without remorse. He treated his victims like roadkill.”
One of the victims, Angela Shaw, said Stanford preyed on retired teachers, veterans and refinery workers – unlike Madoff, who targeted the wealthy.
“He stole more than millions. He stole our lives as we knew them,” Shaw said.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to running a Ponzi scheme and is serving a 150-year sentence. A third major Ponzi schemer, Minnesota businessman Tom Petters, is serving a 50-year prison term for a $3.65 billion scheme.
Attorneys who have followed the Stanford case said the judge was justified in handing him such a long sentence.
“The number can easily be justified by the size of the money involved in the fraud, the lack of remorse, no acceptance of responsibility, impact on the victims and financial institutions,” said Wendell Odom, a Houston-based attorney. “But when you think about 110 years and know that is a life sentence, it is very sobering.”
