Judge Sets January 2011 Trial In Stanford Case

JUAN A. LOZANO

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas financier R. Allen Stanford's trial on charges he bilked investors out of $7 billion as part of a massive Ponzi scheme will begin in January 2011, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The date chosen by U.S. District Judge David Hittner is earlier than the summer of 2011, which was requested by attorneys for Stanford and three other executives of the now-defunct Stanford Financial Group. Defense attorneys had argued they needed the extra time to sort through 5.5 million documents to prepare their cases.

Prosecutors wanted to go to trial next September.

"It's been six months since this case was indicted. It's time for a trial date. (The scheme's alleged) victims have a strong interest in this case moving along," said prosecutor Gregg Costa.

Hittner said there were going to be no more delays.

"One way or another the case has to be tried," he said.

Stanford and other executives of the now-defunct Houston-based Stanford Financial Group are accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme by advising clients to invest more than $7 billion in certificates of deposit from the Stanford International Bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Investors from 113 countries were promised huge returns on their CDs and that their investments were safe.