BREAKING: Financier Allen Stanford Takes the Fifth, Refuses to Testify in Court

[MadBadger]

On MSNBC...they said, Mark, I dont think his name is Mark

Its allen

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1130791120090311

HOUSTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan accused of an $8 billion fraud by U.S. securities regulators, has refused to cooperate in the government's probe, a court filing showed on Wednesday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Stanford, two of his top aides and three of his companies with operating a long-running fraud involving high-yield certificates of deposit. He is also accused of misappropriating $1.6 billion in investor funds.

"I hereby assert my privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and and decline to testify or provide an accounting, and will continue to decline to testify, provide an accounting or produce any documents related to the matters set forth in the Commission's complaint," he said in a document dated March 9 that was filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas.

In a prior court filing, Stanford's attorney Charles Meadows has said the SEC's claims were false.

Stanford Chief Financial Officer James Davis, who is also accused of the fraud, has said he would not cooperate with the government's civil investigation.

This case is filed in U.S. District Court in for the Norther District of Texas 3:09-cv-0298. (Reporting by Anna Driver, editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Jeffrey Benkoe)

[City Lights]

1. Is Mr. It's Fun Being A Billionaire still giggling?

As Mr. Stewart so eloquently stated, Fuck you!

[Barack_America]

2. It's his right to do so.

And just because he's a thieving corporate scumf*cker doesn't take those rights away.

[billyoc]

3. Let's remember, that's "Fifth", as in "Fifth Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution.

No matter what you do, you have the right to not incriminate yourself.

[gratuitous]

4. What if we designate him an enemy combatant?

After all, he's sapping the United States of its financial strength, and there's a war going on. Since he's not affiliated with any other recognized country's regular army, I'd say that Mr. Stanford can and should be designated an enemy combatant. And therefore, under the Bush Doctrine, we can ship him to Guantanamo for a little preliminary softening up, then off to Morocco for a little torture and genital slicing, then maybe to Syria for some unspeakable treatment, and finally back to Guantanamo.

I'll bet he doesn't invoke that Fifth Amendment then, boy!

[annabanana]

5. Well. . declaring him an enemy combatant would WORK of course...

Once that happens you have no recourse or rights or anything...

I'll bet he would give all the money back too. The only problem is that we'd never know where the recovered money slithered away to...

[gratuitous]

9. Sure we'd know where the money is

It's in the area of Tikrit. And somewhat north, south, east and west of there. Don't you read the papers?

[billyoc]

6. We could call orselves, "The Bush Administration"!

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

7. I bet a cup of coffee this guy is a government "contractor" for

one of the alphabet soup agencies. This could get very interesting.

[Ikonoklast]

11. Money launderer turning drug profits into guns for the CIA.

Bet he gets to hide behind 'National Security' concerns and the vast amount of evidence against him will be heavily redacted.

[EFerrari]

14. It might be easier for them to declare him an enemy combatant.

:)

[Ikonoklast]

16. But he is not the enemy. He probably sees himself as a patriot.

He is nothing more than hired help, more along the lines of an economic mercenary whose talents were rented by those that needed secrecy in return for a cut of the proceeds.

(cough)Cheney(cough).

[notadmblnd]

8. Then deny them bail and let them sit in jail.

Or freeze their assets until the case has been decided by a jury and let them see what it's like to live with nothing. And guess what Mr Stanford? The people are in to mood to show compassion to a billionaire who ripped people off.

[originalpckelly]

10. Taking $8 billion wasn't enough?

:P

[HughBeaumont]

12. ONCE again . . .

Allen, this is the hair-cutting device the 18th-century French Peasantry used on corrupt rich people with balls a tinge less brass than yours are currently.

Sooner or later, you ARE going to learn . . . ALL you motherfuckers are going to learn . . . that you aren't laws unto yourselves. And you're going to learn the easy way . . . or the HARD way.

[malaise]

13. This should be fun

Go to jail --do not pass go!!

[spanone]

15. produce the stock certificates or go to jail mr stanford...thank you very much