As we reported on this blog Friday, speculation has been flying through the financial community that Stanford et al could be operating an enormous Ponzi scheme a la Bernie Madoff. Now it's official: The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in Dallas Monday against Stanford Group Co., seeking to halt what it describes as a "massive, ongoing fraud" perpetrated by billionaire R. Allen Stanford (pictured at the right) and his minions. The SEC has identified roughly $8 billion in certificates of deposit sold by the company that yield questionably high rates of return. Here's the SEC's full complaint.
I called Stanford's Boca Raton office this afternoon and asked to speak with Scott Chaisson, the investment firm's managing director. The secretary at the office responded: "We're not taking any calls right now. Thank you."
Click.
Alex Dalmady, the analyst whose interest in Stanford appears to have triggered the investigation, is based in Weston.
