Judge sets January 2011 trial in Stanford case
HOUSTON, USA (AP) — A federal judge has scheduled a January 2011 trial date for Texas financier R Allen Stanford, who is accused of bilking investors out of US$7 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme.
The date chosen yesterday by US District Judge David Hittner is earlier than the summer of 2011, which was requested by attorneys for Stanford and three other executives of the now-defunct Stanford Financial Group.
Prosecutors wanted to go to trial next September.
The executives are accused of advising clients to invest in certificates of deposit from the Stanford International Bank in the Caribbean island of Antigua.
Authorities say the executives told clients the investments were safe and regulated when they weren’t.
