Jury to decide if Stanford accounts can be seized

By Juan A. Lozano

Associated Press

Published: Thursday, March 8 2012 6:10 a.m. MST

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R. Allen Stanford, center, leaves the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse, Tuesday, March 6, 2012, in Houston. Stanford, once considered one of the wealthiest people in the U.S., with a financial empire that spanned the Americas, was convicted Tuesday on charges he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion.

Houston Chronicle, Nick de la Torre, Associated Press

Summary

A jury is to begin deciding if federal authorities can seize $330 million from nearly 30 accounts controlled by convicted Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford and others.

HOUSTON — A jury is to begin deciding if federal authorities can seize $330 million from nearly 30 accounts controlled by convicted Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford and others.

Prosecutors allege the funds are proceeds from a massive Ponzi scheme and can be traced back to investors who lost billions.

The deliberations in Houston federal court are set to begin Thursday.

They are part of a brief criminal forfeiture proceeding that ended Wednesday. It followed Stanford's conviction Tuesday by the same jury on 13 of 14 fraud-related counts for orchestrating a scheme that took more than $7 billion over 20 years from investors.

A sentencing date for Stanford is not expected to be set until after the jury decides on the forfeiture proceeding.

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