Texas Madoff....Stanford Wielded Jets, Junkets and Cricket to Woo Clients

[Joanne98]

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- R. Allen Stanford, accused by federal regulators of a “massive, ongoing fraud” at his Houston investment firm, cultivated his image by shuttling politicians in corporate jets and spending money on cricket, polo and golf.

The 58-year-old head of Stanford Group Co., who grew up in Mexia, Texas and graduated from Baylor University, began using the title “Sir” in 2006 after being knighted by the leaders of Antigua & Barbuda, his adoptive country. The banker began building a fortune by investing in Texan real estate following the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis, according to his company’s Web site.

Stanford’s sales force used leather-bound marketing brochures and trips to his Antigua headquarters to convince investors to entrust their money to Stanford International Bank Ltd. The institution claims 30,000 clients and $7.2 billion in assets under management, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in Dallas yesterday.

“I’m upset with myself because it didn’t pass the gut check,” said Peter Comer, a software salesman in Austin, Texas, who estimated that about 10 percent of his investments are in Stanford International Bank certificates of deposit.

“I got assurances from my brokers,” Comer said in an interview yesterday. “Their job is to do the gut check.”

Stanford, his investment firm and the bank were sued by the SEC over the sale of $8 billion of the bank certificates. The SEC accused the banker and his companies of running a “massive, ongoing fraud” by making false claims to investors about investment strategy and returns.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=auAqkrxMzKPc&refer=home