re: Stanford Financial Houston office's raided

I would bet my paycheck that at least one of those churches has exposure too.

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I've seen the term "Ponzi scheme" thrown around alot in this thread and in numerous articles... but is that even a fair label at this point? Stanford was obviously misrepresenting these these securities as CD's, which were marketed through the Houston broker-dealer, but has anything been revealed to show that these assets were in fact "underwater"? It's a moot point now as the regulators have now thrown the bank into receivership and all but guaranteed that investors eat substantial losses.

Further,I find it a little odd that Stanford, a relatively obscure and small bank, has been garnering so much press and attention over this. Obviously, Allen Stanford's larger-than-life persona has contributes to the story's press-worthiness - but I just don't follow the regulators' logic of pursuing Stanford while "big banks" have systematically destroyed the dollar and buried us under a mountain of debt. Yet BOA, Wells Fargo, Chase, etc. are all rewarded with billions of dollars and Stanford gets stuck with a subpoena and an order to liquidate.

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No offense, but this is some of the most naive stuff I've seen yet. And yes, the assets are "underwater". They've been making up fake returns for years. Or do you think real estate, private equity, hedge fund and equity holdings are likely to have not been down severely in the last 12 months? And presumably you haven't heard about, you know, the drug/money laundering angle with the Mexican mob?

Also, why do you equate receivership with making them eat substantial losses? Receivership often happens BECAUSE of substantial losses, not before them.

You think, it's odd that the media are highlighting an $8B dollar fraud? Are you nuts? Before Madoff 2 months ago, it would have been the biggest fund fraud of all time. For chrissake, man, we're talking about CD's going to zero.

An associate just told me he heard that an attorney who was heavily invested in Stanford committed suicide this morning. Anyone hear anything about that?

One thing is certain, rumors are flying.

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As of Thursday afternoon, he says he's heard from 200 or more people who say they lost money, and a dozen were from the Capital Region. "Baton Rouge seems to be one of the clusters of Stanford victims," says Dunlap.

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It may take seven to 12 years to finish repaying victims of the alleged $8 billion fraud masterminded by Allen Stanford, an attorney told Bloomberg News. Michael Goldberg, a Miami attorney who has handled 30 Ponzi scheme cases says the sheer complexity and scope of the case will make it difficult for the receiver to untangle Stanford's finances.

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Area financial executives estimate between $200 million and $300 million is in the CDs under investigation and that Stanford’s entire Baton Rouge book is close to $1 billion."

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LINK

JR Ball? Isn't that the old Tiger Rag guy?

I don't understand his math on how he gets to half a bil in losses.

Sir Allen Stanford: "It's fun being a billionaire"

[link=( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy128-WoYHk)]LINK[/link]

This dude is on a fricking roll, jesus.

Stanford’s U.S. Tax Bill Tops $104 Million, Property Liens Show LINK ][LINK]

I'm just going off of the BR Business Report article. Although clearly it is not as good of a source as random internet poster claiming to have a friend in banking.