r allen stanford

R. Allen Stanford's Yacht Sells For A Song

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Auctions, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Another fraudster's yacht has found a new home. Indicted financier R. Allen Stanford's 112-foot yacht, Sea Eagle, has been sold to an unidentified bidder for $3.25 million through Ardell Yacht & Ship Brokers of Fort Lauderdale. The yacht was listed for sale in March with an opening bid of $2.5 million. At the time Stanford's lawyers protested the auction, saying that it was too soon and that Stanford's belongings were being liquidated at bargain basement prices. Bloomberg quotes Stanford's lawyer, Ruth Brewer Schuster, who said that the billionaire spent over $16 million refitting the 1988 Hakvoort yacht into a beautiful sportfishing vessel. In a filed objection she said that "any failure to sell the Sea Eagle for an amount far and above Ardell's asking price of $6.5 million will be a complete waste of estate assets." Over the two month auction the yacht attracted only two bidders. It's not the ideal time to be selling a luxury yacht, especially in Florida where the market is clogged. Still, the buyer appears to have gotten a good deal on a yacht ready to enjoy Florida's fine sportfishing.

Stanford remains in jail facing a trial on 21 criminal charges that he defrauded investors of more than $7 billion through allegedly bogus certificates of deposit issued by Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. that promised big returns for investors. Stanford, who is worth over $2 billion, grew up in Texas but adopted Antigua & Barbuda as his second country. He had six planes registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and his Stanford Development Group owns a 7,000 square- foot, 14-room Mediterranean-style house in Houston, appraised at $2.5 million. He also faces parallel civil claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and his criminal trial is set for January in Houston.

Tags: antigua, fraudsters, hakvoort, r allen stanford, yacht auction

Stanford Group Investigation Bad News For Arts Groups

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity

After the Bernie Madoff scandal was exposed the fallout to nonprofits was tremendous. Now the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation of Stanford Financial Group may affect charities too. The Stanford Group has been a supporter of the arts and charities through sponsorships which it used to promote the brand. The Houston Chronicle reports that the Houston Arts Alliance had just finished reviewing applications for the second Stanford Financial Excellence in the Arts awards when it found out the award money was on hold. The company doled out $45,000 in similar grants to Dallas arts groups last year.

Chairman and Chief Executive R. Allen Stanford and his companies sponsored sports around the world, everything from charity golf tournaments in Memphis to cricket competitions in Antigua. Stanford and two fellow executives are believed to have fraudulently sold $8 billion in high-yield certificates of deposit and promised big returns for investors. Stanford, who is worth over $2 billion, grew up in Texas but adopted Antigua & Barbuda as his second country. Bloomberg reveals that he has six planes registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and Stanford Development Group owns a 7,000 square- foot, 14-room Mediterranean-style house in Houston, appraised at $2.5 million.

Tags: culture in trouble, CultureInTrouble, money_stanford, r allen stanford, RAllenStanford, stanford group, StanfordGroup