Accused Ponzi Schemer Stanford Sues US for $7.2B, Claims ‘Abusive Law Enforcement’
Accused Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford has sued federal lawyers and FBI agents for $7.2 billion, claiming the government improperly used $51 million of his own money to fund its investigation even as it denied him funds for a lawyer.
Stanford claims “abusive law enforcement” and seeks compensation for all assets seized, according to Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal. Named defendants include federal criminal prosecutors, Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers, and FBI agents.
Among the claims in the suit (PDF posted by the Am Law Daily):
• The SEC civil case violated Stanford’s due process rights because it was brought to obtain evidence for criminal prosecution.
• The failure to appoint counsel or release funds for an attorney during the civil proceedings, when the government seized records and assets, violate Stanford’s right to counsel.
• The seizure of assets before Stanford could contest it with the help of counsel violated Stanford’s due process rights.
• The effort to deprive Stanford of his property before trial violated the Eighth Amendment bar on excessive fines.
Stanford is represented by Houston lawyer Stephen Cochell, a former prosecutor, the Am Law Daily reports. Since Stanford’s indictment, he has run through “a veritable Rolodex’s worth of lawyers,” the publication says. Cochell had sought to represent Stanford in his criminal case, but a judge denied the request.
Stanford has been ruled incompetent to stand trial in an alleged $7 billion fraud, either because of a brain injury suffered in a prison beating or over-medication.
