Stanford sentenced to 110 years in prison
Financier remains defiant in statement
HOUSTON – Former jet-setting Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford had plenty of things to say Thursday before a federal judge sentenced him to 110 years in prison for bilking investors out of more than $7 billion over two decades.
An apology was not one of them.
In a defiant, rambling statement that lasted more than 40 minutes, Stanford told the court about the injuries he suffered during a prison fight; criticized the government for its “gestapo tactics” when his companies were put in receivership and their assets sold off to pay back investors; described his financial empire as a victim of the 2008 credit collapse; and recalled riding horses with former President George W. Bush.
“I am and will always be at peace with the way I conducted myself in business,” he said before the judge handed down the sentence.
Prosecutors said Stanford, 62, used the money from investors who bought certificates of deposit, or CDs, from his bank on the Caribbean island nation of Antigua to fund a string of failed businesses, bribe regulators and pay for a lavish lifestyle that included yachts, a fleet of private jets and sponsorship of cricket tournaments. The one-time billionaire was convicted in March on 13 of 14 fraud-related counts in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.
Houston retiree Sandra Dorrell, who lost more than $1 million in the fraud, said Stanford’s statement to the court shows the financier cares only about himself and will never admit any wrongdoing.
“It would have been really nice if he had turned around and said ‘I am sorry’ to the victims,” said Dorrell, 59, adding that the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge David Hittner was “very well-deserved.”
Prosecutors had asked that Stanford be sentenced to 230 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible. Stanford’s attorneys had asked for a maximum of 41 months, a sentence he could have completed within about five months because he has been jailed since his arrest in June 2009.
Stanford’s convictions on conspiracy, wire and mail fraud charges followed a seven-week trial.
Stanford was once considered one of the richest men in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion. His financial empire stretched from the U.S. to Latin America and the Caribbean. But after his arrest, all of his assets were seized and he had to rely on court-appointed attorneys to defend him.