Allen Stanford

Robert Allen Stanford (born March 24, 1950) is a former prominent financier and sponsor of professional sports who is serving a 110-year prison sentence, having been convicted of charges that his investment company was a massive Ponzi scheme and fraud. Stanford was the chairman of the now defunct Stanford Financial Group of Companies. A fifth-generation Texan who once resided in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, he holds dual citizenship, being a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and the United States. He contributed millions of dollars to politicians in both Antigua and the United States amongst other countries.

In early 2009, Stanford became the subject of several fraud investigations, and on February 17, 2009, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud and multiple violations of U.S. securities laws for alleged "massive ongoing fraud" involving $7 billion in certificates of deposits. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Stanford's offices in Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Tupelo, Mississippi. On February 27, 2009, the SEC amended its complaint to describe the alleged fraud as a "massive Ponzi scheme". He "voluntarily surrendered" to authorities on June 18, 2009. On March 6, 2012, Stanford was convicted on all charges except a single count of wire fraud. He is serving his 110-year sentence at United States Penitentiary, Coleman in Coleman, Florida. In September 2014, Stanford appealed his conviction however federal judges rejected the appeal in October 2015.