Stanford Trial Delayed Again until January 2012

The trial of Robert Allen Stanford, accused of running a massive $8 billion Ponzi scheme, has again been delayed on the advice of Stanford's doctors.  Stanford, who suffered injuries in a prison altercation in September 2009, needs more time to rehabilitate and recover from an addiction to prescription drugs following the prison beating.  The trial, originally scheduled for September 12, will now start in January 2012.

Stanford is accused of running an elaborate scheme in which investors were promised high rates of return on certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank through the Stanford Group Co.  Prosecutors have accused him of misappropriating over $1.6 billion of the funds collected in the scheme, and a receiver has been appointed to marshal assets for the estimated 7,800 victims.

As the Ponzi Tracker recently noted, the SEC voiced its opinion that investors in Stanford's scheme were entitled to compensation from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC"), which aims to compensate investors in failed brokerage firms.  Should the SIPC refuse the SEC's request, the SEC has indicated it is prepared to file a lawsuit to compel such action.