A multi-billionaire finance mogul was revealed as a fraudster after an investigation into his business uncovered his crimes.
Now, the former tycoon is serving an enormous prison sentence of 110 years behind bars for his dodgy dealings.
Allen Stanford headed up The Stanford Financial Group, which was a privately held international group of financial services companies.
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While Stanford traced his company back to his grandfather’s insurance firm that was founded back in 1932, there was actually no direct link between the businesses.
The mogul took on the role of chairman of his banking firm, which he ran until 2009.
This was when things began to unravel, when reports started surfacing that the FBI, the SEC, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority were all investigating The Stanford Financial Group.
While Stanford maintained his innocence, the authorities weren’t as convinced.
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In that same year, he was charged with fraud and accused of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme.
At the time, the SEC said: “Stanford International Bank’s financial statements, including its investment income, are fictional.”
It was reported by CNBC that on that same day, Stanford attempted to flee the country by contacting a private jet owner and trying to pay for a flight to Antigua with a credit card.
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However, his payment was refused because the company would only accept wire transfer.
In June 2009, Stanford pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction.
After being previously deemed unfit to stand trial due to medical reasons, Stanford’s trial finally began in January 2012 and in March, a jury found him guilty of being the mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme.
For his crimes, the fraudster was sentenced to serve 110 years behind bars, meaning the first eligible date for his release would be in 2103 when he is 152 years old.
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This basically ensures that Stanford will live out the rest of his days in prison.
US District Judge David Hittner said that Stanford had conducted ‘one of the most egregious frauds ever presented to a trial jury in federal court’.
Stanford tried to appeal his conviction in September 2014 by filing a 299-page brief to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
However, just over a year later in October 2015, this appeal was rejected.
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Stanford is now serving out his sentence at a high security federal prison in Florida.