Sir Allen Stanford Pleads Not Guilty

June 25, 2009— -- Flamboyant billionaire financier 'Sir' Allen Stanford has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He faces a maximum sentence of 250 years. His investors lost an estimated $7 billion in what authorities say was an enormous Ponzi scheme. Stanford was arraigned in a Houston courtroom Thursday morning after surrendering to the FBI in Virginia last week.

Stanford and his alleged co-conspirators are charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud investors who purchased approximately $7 billion of CDs from the Stanford International Bank, an off-shore entity based in Antigua. Stanford and his co-defendants are accused of misusing and misappropriating most of their investment assets.

The indictment alleges that Stanford and his associates falsely claimed that the bank's assets had grown from $1.2 billion in 2001 to $8.5 billion by December 2008. Stanford's colleagues Laura Pendergest-Holt, Gilberto Lopez and Mark Kuhrt also entered not guilty pleas at the hearing.

The Stanford Group also allegedly made thousands of dollars in bribes to the former head of Antigua's Financial Services Authority to ensure the bank was not audited. That official, Leroy King, has reportedly been arrested in Antigua.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy ruled late Thursday that Stanford will be released on $500,000 bond. His trial is scheduled for August.