Is Billionaire Stanford on the Run? Banker’s Whereabouts Unknown As SEC Details Earlier Investigation

Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission have no idea where in the world billionaire banker R. Allen Stanford may have gone as they continue to investigate allegations of an $8 billion fraud allegedly carried out by Stanford’s massive financial empire.

At the same time, it was announced that the SEC has been looking into Stanford’s financial operations since 2007 or earlier and focused on the offering of fraudulent certificates of deposit, the same instruments now at the center of the current federal investigation.

Stanford, a Texas native who holds dual citizen in Antigua, owns homes on the Caribbean island and throughout the region, officials said. An SEC spokesperson confirmed that the agency has been unable to contact Stanford to serve him with court orders and other documents relating to the investigation into his financial dealings.

Officials could not rule out the possibility that Stanford has left the country, possibly in an effort to avoid prosecution in the United States.

Earlier Allegations Revealed

According to U.S. securities regulators, they have been examining the financier’s sales practices since at least 2007. In a civil complaint filed in 2008 against Stanford’s firm by two former employees, the workers said the company was the target of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the firm’s sales practices while they worked there.

Mark Tidwell and Charles Rawl said that they left Stanford’s firm in late 2007 rather than participate in unlawful business practices.

Is Stanford on the Run?

Among the court orders that officials have been unable to serve on Stanford are documents freezing his company’s assets and appointing a receiver to oversee operations of the Stanford Financial Group companies. The company’s Houston headquarters were raided by federal authorities on February 17, 2009.

According to some media reports, Stanford and colleagues also named in the civil SEC complaint recently failed to comply with subpoenas ordering them to personally appear and produce documents for inspection by SEC officials.

If Stanford wanted to hide from U.S. prosecutors, he would appear to have ample places to go. As one of the world’s wealthiest men, he has an estimated worth of about $2.2 billion. He has lived at various locations in and around the Caribbean island of Antigua for about 20 years.

However, the shaky foundation under Stanford’s immense investment empire may be starting to show cracks. Financial network CNBC reported that Stanford recently tried to hire a private jet to fly him one-way to Antigua from Houston, but the jet company refused to take his credit card.

Stanford Associates Found and Served

Two Stanford associates also accused in the alleged financial wrongdoing, Laura Pendergest-Holt and Jim Davis, have been tracked down and served with court documents relating to the civil fraud charges, officials said.

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