$7B swindle may keep Stanford behind bars for life

His attorneys told jurors the financier was trying to consolidate his businesses to repay investors when authorities seized his companies. They accused Davis of being behind the fraud and lying to get a reduced sentence.

Davis pleaded guilty to three fraud and conspiracy charges in 2009 as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Three other former Stanford executives are scheduled for trial in September. A former Antiguan financial regulator accused of accepting bribes from Stanford also was indicted and awaits extradition to the U.S.

Stanford, the largest private employer on Antigua, was widely known as "Sir Allen" after being knighted by the island nation's government.

The financier's trial was delayed after he was declared incompetent in January 2011 due to an anti-anxiety drug addiction he developed in jail. He underwent treatment and was declared fit for trial in December.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that also accuses Stanford and his former executives of fraud is pending.

Follow Juan A. Lozano at http://www.twitter.com/juanlozano70