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Tag: R. Allen Stanford

  • BREAKING NEWS: FBI Serves Papers On Stanford For SEC; Antigua Calls For Calm; BizAdSplash Asks Customers For More Money, Promotes 100 Percent ‘Matching’ Bonus Program

    FBI agents today located financier R. Allen Stanford in Virginia and served papers on him at the behest of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stanford was not taken into custody.

    The SEC issued a statement:

    “At the request of the SEC, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond Division today located and identified Stanford Financial Group chairman Allen Stanford in the Fredericksburg, Va., area. The agents served Mr. Stanford with court orders and documents related to the SEC’s civil filing against him and three of his companies. The SEC very much appreciates the outstanding assistance of the FBI in this matter.”

    Stanford and three of his companies were accused Tuesday of running a fraudulent, multibillion dollar investment scheme.

    His companies include Stanford International Bank (SIB) of Antigua; Houston-based broker-dealer and investment adviser Stanford Group Co. (SGC), and investment adviser Stanford Capital Management.

    Also charged were SIB Chief Financial Officer James Davis and Stanford Financial Group Chief Investment Officer Laura Pendergest-Holt.

    Meanwhile, the government of Antigua and banking officials in Antigua appealed for calm after customers flooded banks and tried to withdraw cash. The government of Antigua released two extraordinary statements urging customers not to panic.

    Read the statement from the Bank of Antigua.

    Read the statement from the Antigua & Barbuda Bankers Association.

    Elsewhere, the governments of at least five Latin America countries are investigating Stanford banking or securities outlets. At least one Stanford outlet in Venezuela was seized, and two in Ecuador were seized. Banking authorities in Panama also seized a Stanford outlet.

    Attorneys in the United States are investigating Stanford for running a Bernard Madoff-like Ponzi scheme through his network of companies.

    Regional Autosurf Ties

    AdSurfDaily Inc., a U.S. company accused of operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme, had at least $1 million on deposit in Antigua, according to court filings. At the same time, other firms involved in the autosurf business have been promoting their offshore locations in country’s such as Panama and Uruguay as a key selling point.

    Today, BizAdSplash, one of the surfs, told members about a special deal it was offering. BizAdSplash says it is registered in Uruguay; its servers resolve to Panama.

    Despite all the upheaval in the financial world — despite the alleged Madoff Ponzi, the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi, the alleged egregious financial abuses of Allen Stanford — BizAdSplash today encouraged customers to give it even more money.

    One promoter called the BizAdSplash news an “EXCITING MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!: 100% Match Week.”

    Here is the deal BizAdSplash promoted today (italics added):

    Over the past week we have had a number of you contact us about your initial deposit and that you only purchased a small amount of Ad Packages just to test the system. Now you are ready to make a larger purchase. Your question is can we get the 100% match or discount on the cost of a larger Ad Package. Biz Ad Splash has agreed to open a small window for this 100% additional match. Any new purchases made from outside the system will be given the same benefit as your initial purchase and will be given the 100% match along with the sponsor match. This is only on purchases made on February 23 through February 28. This is a tremendous opportunity for all our Biz Ad Splash advertisers.

    Thank you for your patience while we are in our beta launch. We value your participation in Biz Ad Splash and we look forward to exceeding your expectations.

    The Biz Ad Splash Team

  • Reports: U.S. Regulators Probing Bank In Antigua

    Multiple media outlets — including Bloomberg News, the Associated Press and Business Week — are reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation are investigating Stanford Financial Group.

    At issue is the extraordinary rate of return advertised by Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIB), an Antigua-based arm of Stanford Financial Group. Stanford Financial Group is an investment firm headquartered in Houston. It is run by billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose fortune was estimated at $2.2 billion by Forbes magazine.

    SIB’s certificates of deposit, for instance, have been advertised to return double or even triple the rates of U.S.-based CDs. The FBI now has joined the probe, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    The question on the lips of reporters is whether Allen Stanford in the next Bernard Madoff. Fueling concern have been the reports of financial analyst Alex Dalmady. Take a minute to read Dalmady’s report if you’ve been following the AdSurfDaily case. Antigua is a Caribbean nation and favored spot for U.S. residents to move money offshore.

    AdSurfDaily Inc., an alleged $100 million Ponzi purveyor, had more than $1 million on deposit in an Antigua bank, according to Aug. 25 court filings.

    “[Andy Bowdoin] told the Secret Service that an Antigua account (in another name), holds over one million ASD dollars,” federal prosecutors said.

    Perhaps ASD members would be wise to ask Bowdoin the name of the Antigua bank in which the funds are deposited.

    But, getting back to SIB . . .

    SIB has a strong presence in Florida. Dalmady, the financial analyst, has been asking some troubling questions and relating some troubling observations. One of the things that bothered him about SIB was the “unsophisticated” appearance of its website

    It’s an observation mindful of reactions to the ASD website.

    Reports now are circulating that SIB reserved the right to refuse early CD redemption requests, which has a whiff of some of the language ASD used to protect what federal prosecutors said was a Ponzi scheme. It’s not quite “rebates aren’t guaranteed,” but why restrict access to customers’ money, especially when you’re operating offshore? It only raises red flags.

    Stanford Financial is blaming the probe on disgruntled employees; ASD blamed bad press it was getting on disgruntled MLMers.

    It’s early. No charges have been filed against Stanford Financial Group.