During his life, R. Allen Stanford was a master of the Ponzi scheme on the same level as a Bernie Madoff. From his base in Antigua, Allen Stanford transformed himself into a billionaire, mostly on other people’s money. He had set up a $7 billion dollar investment scam, but now his empire has toppled. Former knight of Antigua Allen Stanford has received 110 years in federal prison for his fraud. Sending Stanford won’t get people their money back, but it may make the victims feel better in their welfare shacks.
Weirdly, you could say that Stanford, who will spend the rest of his life in prison, got off light in his sentence. He was facing up to 230 years in prison, and may have gotten it. While his time in jail has not been easy–he was beaten badly by a fellow inmate and became addicted to antidepressants, among other problems–it’s probably better than it could be for the billionaire supervillain. Certainly no one in the courtroom in Houston, Texas, had much sympathy for Stanford.
Prosecutors were pushing for the max sentence, telling U.S. District Judge David Hitner, “230 years will not get anyone their money back but on sleepless nights they will know that he got the maximum.” Hopefully, 110 years will be enough.
Tags: allen stanford, ponzi schemes, investment fraud, allen stanford gets 110 years in jail, Antigua, R. Allen Stanford, U.S. District Judge David Hitner, Houston, Texas, unusual crimes, unusual criminals, federal crimes, fraud, financial crimes, former knight turned criminal