Allen Stanford
Chairman of Stanford International Bank (SIB), convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison
- Entries
- 10
- On the record
- 9
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- May 4, 2026
The record
Robert Allen Stanford ran a group of companies built around Stanford International Bank, an Antigua-based bank that sold certificates of deposit, and Antigua granted him the title Sir Allen Stanford. According to the Fifth Circuit, he started in banking with Guardian International Bank on Montserrat and moved it to Antigua under the new name after Montserrat's finance ministry gave notice in 1990 that it intended to revoke its license. In February 2009 the SEC sued him and his companies over what it called an $8 billion CD program.
The criminal case began with an indictment on June 18, 2009, and a superseding indictment followed on May 4, 2011. After a seven-week trial in the Southern District of Texas in 2012, a jury convicted him on 13 of 14 counts, including conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, obstruction of an SEC investigation and money-laundering conspiracy, and he was sentenced to 110 years in prison. Representing himself on appeal, he raised ten issues; the Fifth Circuit rejected them and affirmed in October 2015.
Since February 2009 his companies have been in a court receivership in Dallas run by Ralph S. Janvey. The receiver and an investors committee pursued banks and other third parties, and the receiver cites $1.6 billion in bank settlements, including $1.205 billion from TD Bank approved in 2023. In 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court let investors' state-law class actions against law firms and insurance brokers proceed. A final distribution of about $339 million was approved in October 2025.
Roles and honours on the record
- before 2009 Founder of Guardian International Bank on Montserrat, later moved to Antigua as Stanford International Bank source
- until 2009 Ran Stanford International Bank, Stanford Group Company and Stanford Capital Management, which the SEC called three of his companies source
- before 2009 Holder of the title Sir Allen Stanford, granted by Antigua source
- 2012 Defendant convicted on 13 of 14 counts and sentenced to 110 years in prison, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas source
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
Sentenced to 110 years in federal prison over a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the WSJ reported. Biggest founder frauds ranked: Madoff tops, $170B forfeiture
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 2009-02-16 Ruled The U.S. District Court in Dallas appointed Ralph S. Janvey as receiver for the Stanford receivership estate in SEC v. Stanford International Bank, No. 3:09-cv-00298. U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas, Final Bar Order (background)
- 2009-02-17 Filed The SEC charged Stanford, three of his companies, CFO James Davis and chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, alleging an $8 billion CD program built on improbable interest rates; Judge Reed O'Connor froze their assets. SEC press release 2009-26
- 2009-06-18 Filed Federal prosecutors filed the original criminal indictment against Stanford; a superseding indictment followed on May 4, 2011. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, opinion, No. 12-20411
- 2012 Ruled After a seven-week trial, a jury convicted him on 13 of 14 counts, and the court sentenced him to 110 years in prison, within the 230 years the sentencing guidelines authorized. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, opinion, No. 12-20411
- 2014-02-26 Ruled In Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that federal securities law did not bar Stanford investors' state-law class actions against two law firms and two insurance brokers, because the alleged misrepresentations concerned the bank's CDs, which were not covered securities. U.S. Supreme Court, opinion, No. 12-79 (LII copy)
- 2015-10-29 Ruled The Fifth Circuit affirmed his conviction and sentence, rejecting the ten issues he raised on appeal without a lawyer, among them that the SEC had no regulatory authority over an offshore bank. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, opinion, No. 12-20411
- 2023-08-08 Ruled Chief Judge David C. Godbey approved a $1,205,000,000 settlement between The Toronto-Dominion Bank and the receiver and investors, which the plaintiffs had alleged enabled the Ponzi scheme; the order states it is not an admission of wrongdoing. U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas, Final Bar Order, ECF No. 3331
- 2025-10-08 Ruled The court approved the receiver's final distribution plan, a payout of 7.10 percent, or about $339 million, to over 14,000 claimant groups. Stanford Financial Group receivership, court-appointed receiver's site
- 2026-05-04 Official The receiver reported payments to over 5,600 claimant groups totaling more than $112 million under the final distribution plan. Stanford Financial Group receivership, court-appointed receiver's site
Documents
- SEC press release 2009-26, charges against R. Allen Stanford and Stanford International Bank (Feb. 17, 2009)
- Opinion, United States v. Stanford, 5th Cir. No. 12-20411 (Oct. 29, 2015)
- Opinion, Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, No. 12-79 (Feb. 26, 2014)
- Final Bar Order approving the TD Bank settlement, SEC v. Stanford International Bank, N.D. Tex. No. 3:09-cv-00298 (Aug. 8, 2023)
- Order approving the receiver's final distribution plan (Oct. 8, 2025)