My comment: and more to come.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aK6tg..PNMos&refer=home

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators accused R. Allen Stanford of
running a “massive, ongoing fraud” while selling about $8 billion in
certificates of deposit through Antigua- based Stanford International
Bank Ltd.

The bank made “improbable and unsubstantiated” claims about its
ability to generate “safe” returns of more than 10 percent, and it
misled investors about exposure to Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi
scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission said today in a
complaint against Stanford, firms he controls and two colleagues. The
agency asked the Dallas federal court to freeze assets and appoint a
receiver to return money to investors.

The SEC has been investigating Stanford’s Houston-based investment
firm, Stanford Group, since at least last summer over sales of
certificates by the Antigua-based affiliate. The inquiry intensified
after the December arrest of New York money manager Madoff, who
allegedly confessed to masterminding a $50 billion fraud in which
early investors were promised steady returns and paid with money from
later participants.

“We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its
tentacles throughout the world,” Rose Romero, director of the SEC’s
Fort Worth office, said today in a statement. Stanford spokesman Brian
Bertsch did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The SEC has asked former employees about the bank’s stated returns on
investment, between 10.3 and 15.1 percent every year from 1995 until
last year, according to documents and annual reports on the bank’s Web
site. SIB says it has $7.2 billion in assets and 30,000 clients,
according to the SEC.

‘Routine Examinations’

Investigators from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority visited
six Stanford Group offices in January, downloaded information from
computer hard drives and looked through files, people familiar with
the events said. The people declined to be identified because they
didn’t want to put their current jobs at risk.

“Regulatory officers have conveyed to us these visits are part of
their routine examinations,” Allen Stanford said in a Feb. 11 letter
to clients and an e-mail message to the company’s employees obtained
by Bloomberg.

Stanford said in a Feb. 12 e-mail to his employees that he’d “fight
with every breath to continue to uphold our good name” in the face of
the investigations.



On Feb 14, 9:31 pm, "Sumerian.." <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am not so knowledgeable about sayings.. I will try to recall..
>
> Hungry wolves.. interesting.. Lets see..
>
> Regards
>
> =======
>   S1000+
>   =======
>
> --- On Sat, 2/14/09, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: For American friends
> To: "World-thread" <[email protected]>
> Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009, 11:24 AM
>
> Exavtly. I bet that you have a saying in your country that sounds more
> or less like "after shepherds dispute each to other, sheep dies".
>
> Yes, wolves are in dispute, people must be careful.
>
> Peace and best wishes.
>
> Xi
>
> On Feb 14, 7:29 pm, "Sumerian.." <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > You mean the wolves will eat each other once hungry
>
> > =======
> >   S1000+
> >   =======
>
> > --- On Sat, 2/14/09, [email protected] <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> > From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
> > Subject: For American friends
> > To: "World-thread" <[email protected]>
> > Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009, 4:42 AM
>
> > My comment: Just to be aware of what might begin in some financial
> > institutions.
>
> > Peace and best wishes.
>
> > Xi
>
> > Stanford Pledges `Necessary Actions' to Protect Depositors as U.S.
> > Probes
> > Stanford Blames ‘Former Disgruntled’ Workers in
>
> Probehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ajyP6jGBwJlA&refe...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- R. Allen Stanford, the billionaire chairman of
> > Houston-based investment firm Stanford Group Co., blamed “former
> > disgruntled employees” for stoking regulatory probes into his firm.
>
> > Stanford Group is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and
> > Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority,
> > according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be
> > identified because they didn’t want to put their jobs at risk. The
> > agencies are examining the company’s sales of certificates of deposit
> > issued by its Antigua-based affiliate, Stanford International Bank
> > Ltd., and the consistent, above- average returns those investments
> > paid, the people said.
>
> > “We are all aware that former disgruntled employees have gone to the
> > regulators questioning our work and our processes,” Stanford said
> > yesterday in an e-mail to staff members that was obtained by Bloomberg
> > News. “This could have compounded an otherwise routine examination.”
>
> > Investigators from Finra visited six Stanford Group offices last
> > month, downloaded information from computer hard drives and looked
> > through files, the people said.
>
> > “Regulatory officers have conveyed to us these visits are part of
> > their routine examinations,” Stanford said in his e-mail message. He
> > repeated that assertion in a letter to clients dated Feb. 11 and
> > obtained by Bloomberg.
>
> > “Please do not get discouraged by what you read in the press,” Allen
> > Stanford wrote in the letter. “We are hard at work delivering on our
> > commitment to you.”
>
> > Finra has asked former employees about the bank’s stated returns on
> > investment, the people said.
>
> > ‘Decisive Steps’
>
> > The returns were between 10.3 percent and 15.1 percent every year from
> > 1995 until last year, according to documents and annual reports on the
> > bank’s Web site.
>
> > SIB has $8.5 billion in assets and 30,000 clients, according to the
> > site.
>
> > Deposits climbed to $7.7 billion in July, from $3 billion at the end
> > of 2004, according to press releases and the mid-year report posted on
> > the site.
>
> > “On the issue of Stanford International Bank, I want to be very
> > clear,” Stanford said in the e-mail. “SIB remains a strong
> > institution, and even without the benefit of billions in U.S.
> > taxpayers’ dollars we are taking a number of decisive steps to
> > reinforce our financial strength. We will take the necessary actions
> > to protect our depositors.”
>
> > ‘Whatever Steps Necessary’
>
> > Stanford in his letter assured clients he will take “whatever steps
> > necessary” to protect their deposits.
>
> > “We have already added two capital infusions into the bank and are
> > considering additional actions,” he wrote.
>
> > Stanford, 58, vowed to “fight with every breath to continue to uphold
> > our good name.”
>
> > Finra spokesman Herb Perone said the agency doesn’t confirm or deny
> > investigations. Kevin Edmundson, an SEC investigator in Ft. Worth,
> > Texas, said, “I can’t even confirm the existence of the
> > investigation.”
>
> > The SEC issued subpoenas last July to at least two former Stanford
> > employees. Last month, the agency questioned two former Stanford
> > financial advisers, according to the people familiar with the
> > situation.
>
> > The SEC has stepped up probes after being accused of failing to heed
> > warnings that Bernard Madoff’s investment returns were too good to be
> > true. Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 after allegedly telling his sons
> > that his business was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. The SEC has since
> > announced unrelated lawsuits against at least seven money managers for
> > allegedly inflating profits or siphoning off client money.
>
> > Marketing CDs
>
> > Stanford Group pushed its financial advisers to steer clients’ money
> > into the offshore CDs, paying a 1 percent bonus commission and
> > offering prizes including trips and cash for the best producers,
> > according to four former advisers who asked not to be identified.
>
> > Marketing material for Stanford Group CDs raised red flags, said Bob
> > Parrish, a financial planner and accountant in Longboat Key, Florida.
>
> > The use of the term “CD” to describe the investment was misleading
> > because most investors associate it with a safe, FDIC- insured
> > instrument, Parrish said.
>
> > ‘Enjoying Those Checks’
>
> > “It was a familiar term being used to describe an instrument that
> > really would not fall within the meaning of a CD,” Parrish said in a
> > telephone interview. He advised six clients to take their money out of
> > the CDs, he said.
>
> > An internal e-mail from 2005 obtained by Bloomberg showed Stanford
> > urging a team of 61 Stanford Group financial advisers to bring $62.5
> > million in new money to the bank in one quarter.
>
> > “Many of you are just now enjoying those checks from our 2nd quarter
> > team performance of $44 MM,” the e-mail said. “I’m sure you look
> > forward to getting another one after this quarter.”
>
> > Stanford Group’s one-year, $100,000 CD paid 4.5 percent annual yield
> > as of Nov. 28, according a posting on the Web site yesterday. A one-
> > year, $10,000 CD purchased at JPMorgan Chase & Co. would earn 1.5
> > percent, according to its consumer banking Web site.
>
> > SIB describes the CDs in its disclosure statement as traditional bank
> > deposits. The bank doesn’t lend proceeds and instead invests in a mix
> > of equities, metals, currencies and derivatives, according to its Web
> > site and CD disclosures.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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