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'''Robert Allen Stanford''', [[List of post-nominal letters|KCN]], is a billionaire financier of American heritage and Antiguan-Barbudan citizenship. He is presently under investigation by the SEC for "massive, ongoing fraud while selling about $8 billion in certificates of deposit through investment firm Stanford International Bank Ltd." He is also well known as both a sponsor of professional sports and as a [[philanthropist]]. A fifth-generation Texan who resides in [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Croix]], [[United States Virgin Islands|US Virgin Islands]], he holds dual citizenship, having become a citizen of [[Antigua and Barbuda]] ten years ago.
'''Robert Allen Stanford''', [[List of post-nominal letters|KCN]], is a billionaire financier of American heritage and Antiguan-Barbudan citizenship. He is presently under investigation by the SEC for "massive, ongoing fraud while selling about $8 billion in certificates of deposit through investment firm Stanford International Bank Ltd".<ref>[http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-26.htm SEC press release]</ref> He is also well known as both a sponsor of professional sports and as a [[philanthropist]]. A fifth-generation Texan who resides in [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Croix]], [[United States Virgin Islands|US Virgin Islands]], he holds dual citizenship, having become a citizen of [[Antigua and Barbuda]] ten years ago.


Stanford was the first American to be [[knight]]ed by that [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nation<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article3822719.ece Sir Allen Stanford, England’s saviour - Times Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, having been presented the honor by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir James B. Carlisle.
Stanford was the first American to be [[knight]]ed by that [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] nation<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article3822719.ece Sir Allen Stanford, England’s saviour - Times Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, having been presented the honor by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir James B. Carlisle.

Revision as of 17:20, 17 February 2009

Sir Allen Stanford
Born (1950-03-24) March 24, 1950 (age 74)
Mexia, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Chairman, Stanford Financial Group
Websitestanfordfinancial.com, stanfordgroup.com

Robert Allen Stanford, KCN, is a billionaire financier of American heritage and Antiguan-Barbudan citizenship. He is presently under investigation by the SEC for "massive, ongoing fraud while selling about $8 billion in certificates of deposit through investment firm Stanford International Bank Ltd".[2] He is also well known as both a sponsor of professional sports and as a philanthropist. A fifth-generation Texan who resides in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, he holds dual citizenship, having become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda ten years ago.

Stanford was the first American to be knighted by that Commonwealth nation[3], having been presented the honor by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir James B. Carlisle.


Business career

Stanford is the Chairman of the privately held, wholly owned Stanford Financial Group of Companies. He began his business career in Houston, Texas, making his first fortune in real estate in the early 1980s. In 1983, Stanford was slapped with a default court judgment of $31,800 by a landlord for back rent on a failed health club in Waco.[4] Since then he has expanded the insurance and real estate company his grandfather founded in 1932 into a global wealth management firm. Stanford Financial Group’s clients are affluent investors, institutions, and emerging growth companies from 136 countries on six continents. Assets under management or advisement are in excess of US$50 billion. The SEC has opened an investigation.[5]

Several federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the F.B.I. and the Internal Revenue Service, have spent “many months” looking into the business activities of the Stanford Financial Group, which is based in Houston, and Mr. Stanford’s bank based in Antigua, which issues high-yielding certificates of deposit, according to two individuals briefed on the investigations who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The focus of the investigations appears to be how the bank could issue C.D.s that pay interest rates that are more than twice the national average

On February 17, 2009, Stanford was accused of massive fraud by the SEC and his offices were raided by US Marshals.

Sports

Stanford and his companies have established a significant presence in golf, polo, tennis, cricket and sailing, sports which are popular among Stanford’s wealthy clients. Stanford Financial Group is the title sponsor for such sporting events as the Stanford US Open Polo Championship, the Stanford USPA Silver Cup, the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, the PGA Tour Stanford St. Jude Championship, and the Stanford International Pro-Am. In 2009, the final event of the LPGA season, now known as the ADT Championship, will be renamed the Stanford Financial Tour Championship. Stanford also sponsors professional golfers Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and David Toms as well as Morgan Pressel on the LPGA Tour. In tennis, the company is a sponsor of the Sony Ericsson Open. Stanford also sponsors the Champions Series Tennis Tournaments featuring Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.

Stanford created and funded the Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament in the West Indies, for which he built his own ground in Antigua. The first Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament was held in July and August 2006. The second tournament took place in January and February 2008 with a global television audience of 300 million.[6] Trinidad and Tobago took first place in this tournament. This team also took home the US280k Super Series prize after defeating Middlesex on 27 October 2008. [7]

In June 2008 Stanford and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) signed a deal for five Twenty20 internationals between England and a West Indies all-star XI with a total prize fund of £12.270m (US $20 million) to be awarded to the team that wins the Championship. It was the largest prize ever offered to a team for a single tournament.[8] This was in jeopardy after a row with Digicel, the sponsors of the West Indies cricket team, who were unhappy about sponsorship of the event. Eventually, the dispute was sorted out and the first Championship was won by Stanford Superstars, who defeated the England team by 10 wickets, humiliating them in the Twenty 20 arena. [9]

Philanthropy

Stanford is committed to many charitable causes around the world, including Stanford's main charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Regulatory Investigations

Reports have surfaced that The Securities & Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investgation, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a major private-sector oversight body, are all investigating Stanford's company Stanford Financial. [10] [11]Some questions have taken place regarding the way that Stanford International Bank manages to consistently make higher than market returns to its depositors [12]. A piece by a reputable Florida based financial analyst Alex Dalmady [13] raises serious concerns over the business model of Stanford International Bank.

Federal agents raided the offices of Stanford Financial on February 17, 2009. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sir Allen Stanford with fraud[14]

References

  1. ^ "The World's Billionaires: #205 R Allen Stanford". Forbes.com. 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  2. ^ SEC press release
  3. ^ Sir Allen Stanford, England’s saviour - Times Online
  4. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/investing/wall_street_news_blog/archives/2009/02/stanfords_faile.html
  5. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_08/b4120022131798.htm
  6. ^ "Stanford Super series gets go-ahead - but who is Sir Allen Stanford?". 2008-13-10. Retrieved 03 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  7. ^ BBC SPORT | Cricket | Middlesex denied in Champions Cup
  8. ^ BBC SPORT | Cricket | England bag £50m Twenty20 bonanza
  9. ^ Stanford 2020 Website
  10. ^ Businessweek Article
  11. ^ New York Times article
  12. ^ Bloomberg Report
  13. ^ Alex Dalmady Report
  14. ^ [1]
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