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The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday upheld a lower-court ruling that revoked the Texan financier's bond on the grounds that he is a flight risk and should remain in custody until his trial, which could be a year away.
Stanford was initially granted bail by a magistrate judge, but U.S. District Judge David Hittner revoked the bond after prosecutors argued that the 59-year-old Texas financier is a serious flight risk.
Stanford's attorneys had argued that Stanford was not a flight risk, and appealed for his release on bail so he can assist in defending investment fraud charges that may lead to a life sentence for him.
Stanford and four executives of his now defunct Stanford Financial Group are accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme and swindling investors of as much as 7 billion U.S. dollars.
Stanford has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 18. He will return to court Thursday for a public hearing to determine who will represent him legally, according to local media reports.
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Texas billionaire Allen Stanford appears before federal Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia in this June 19, 2009 courtroom sketch. Lauck ordered Stanford, a flamboyant 59-year-old financier, be transferred to Houston for a hearing on whether he should be granted bail on fraud and obstruction charges stemming from a $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk investors. Stanford could face up to 250 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges brought by a grand jury in Texas |