One time Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford has been sentenced to 110 years in prison after a court found him guilty of bilking investors out of $7 billion dollars.
The sentence given to Stanford is 40 years less than that given to Bernie Madoff in 2009 after his $50 billion ponzi scheme collapsed, Bloomberg noted. Still it could have been worse. Prosecutors had requested a 230-year sentence.
Stanford, once a member of the Forbes list of wealthiest people, was convicted in March of multiple charges, including criminal counts of mail fraud and wire fraud. Yesterday, a federal judge handed down the essentially life-in-prison sentence and ordered Stanford to forfeit $5.9 billion.
Formerly the head of the Stanford Financial Group, Stanford persuaded investors to purchase certificate of deposits in his company, while he squandered the money on failed investments and a luxurious lifestyle that included yachts and cricket tournaments, financed with $2 billion in undisclosed loans from the company.
Prosecutors claimed that Stanford treated his victims “like road kill.” Stanford maintained his innocence during the trial, attempting to shift blame to his CFO, who testified against him.
Attorneys for Stanford said they planned to appeal the sentence, calling it “harsh” and claiming that their client “feels like he didn’t do anything.”
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