FAST FACTS:
Omari.Fleming@wreg.com
(Memphis, TN 2/17/2009) James Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt may be trading these board room beauty shots or mug shots.
They're two of the three senior executives at Stanford Financial, charged with defrauding investors out of $8 billion dollars. Some of those investors may be right here in Memphis.
Davis and and Pendergest-Holt worked out of the company's offices at the Crescent Center.
Tuesday morning federal agents raided the East Memphis office.
"I'm just kind of dumbfounded," said State Senator Paul Stanley.
Stanley works for Stanford Financial. From Nashville he told us he's concerned about what this means for his clients. He could even lose his job.
Stanford Financial has made many charitable contributions in Memphis. It's the title sponsor for the Stanford-St Jude Golf Tournament.
When asked if there was any inkling of fraud in his 3 1/2 years there as a financial advisor for the company, Stanley said, "No."
A complaint lists Davis, Pendergest-Holt and CEO, Sir R. Allen Stanford as the masterminds behind the massive fraud. It accuses the trio of fraudulently selling $8 billion dollars worth of certificates of deposits that promised an unusually high return on investment.
"High returns like that should have been a red flag to investors," explained Memphis attorney Scott Beall who represents securities fraud victims.
After looking over the complaint against Stanford Financial he said, "It appears to have all the classic indications of a Ponzi Scheme."
One Houston woman who's not one of Bealle's clients had a message for Stanford Financial execs.
"I hope you will do the right thing for your customers and I hope no one will try to attempt to assassinate you."
All investors assetts have been frozen. Bealle says it'll be a long time befor they get access to the money and when they do, they probably won't get all of it if any at all.
- Federal investigators raid Stanford Financial's Memphis office
- State Senator Paul Stanley works for the investment company
- He says he never saw any wrongdoing
Omari.Fleming@wreg.com
(Memphis, TN 2/17/2009) James Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt may be trading these board room beauty shots or mug shots.
They're two of the three senior executives at Stanford Financial, charged with defrauding investors out of $8 billion dollars. Some of those investors may be right here in Memphis.
Davis and and Pendergest-Holt worked out of the company's offices at the Crescent Center.
Tuesday morning federal agents raided the East Memphis office.
"I'm just kind of dumbfounded," said State Senator Paul Stanley.
Stanley works for Stanford Financial. From Nashville he told us he's concerned about what this means for his clients. He could even lose his job.
Stanford Financial has made many charitable contributions in Memphis. It's the title sponsor for the Stanford-St Jude Golf Tournament.
When asked if there was any inkling of fraud in his 3 1/2 years there as a financial advisor for the company, Stanley said, "No."
A complaint lists Davis, Pendergest-Holt and CEO, Sir R. Allen Stanford as the masterminds behind the massive fraud. It accuses the trio of fraudulently selling $8 billion dollars worth of certificates of deposits that promised an unusually high return on investment.
"High returns like that should have been a red flag to investors," explained Memphis attorney Scott Beall who represents securities fraud victims.
After looking over the complaint against Stanford Financial he said, "It appears to have all the classic indications of a Ponzi Scheme."
One Houston woman who's not one of Bealle's clients had a message for Stanford Financial execs.
"I hope you will do the right thing for your customers and I hope no one will try to attempt to assassinate you."
All investors assetts have been frozen. Bealle says it'll be a long time befor they get access to the money and when they do, they probably won't get all of it if any at all.
