IRS Says Allen Stanford Owes $226 Mil in Back Taxes
Accused swindler and estranged wife failed to pay over 5 years.
March 16, 2009— -- Accused billionaire swindler R. Allen Stanford and his wife owe the IRS $226.6 million in back taxes, according to a new court filing by the IRS. A lien filed in Stanford's divorce records indicated he owed $114 million, but the new IRS filing shows the total debt is nearly twice that figure.
Stanford and his wife filed for divorce in 2007; the matter is still unresolved.
The couple failed to pay $110 million in taxes between 1999 and 2003, according to the IRS filing. Penalties and interest more than doubled the total the two owe.
The new IRS filing puts it in line as a creditor to receive money recovered from Stanford's holdings, now frozen by a judge's order.
Stanford, who at the moment faces a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission but no criminal charges, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and declined to cooperate with investigators.
The SEC says Stanford ran an $8 billion Ponzi scheme that defrauded tens of thousands of clients around the world.