Attorney predicts Stanford suits will be filed in Baton Rouge

There’s no question that the local victims of the $8 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Allen Stanford and two others will file suit in Baton Rouge, says attorney Phil Preis. “A suit needs to be filed here in Baton Rouge to protect their interests,” says Preis, a former staff attorney with the U.S. Treasury Department’s comptroller of the currency. Preis says he’s been contacted by a variety of people who claim to have lost money they invested with Stanford. “Every time I pick up the phone, it’s another story,” he says. Because of Stanford’s high local profile—the company has sponsored everything from Baton Rouge Area Chamber events to the LSU cheerleaders—there’s a disproportionately large number of local investors, Preis says. But those investors shouldn’t be in a rush to file suit. “We need to try and look and see what’s going on,” he says. James Dunlap Jr., an Atlanta attorney, is investigating potential investor claims against Stanford. As of Thursday afternoon, he says he’s heard from 200 or more people who say they lost money, and a dozen were from the Capital Region. “Baton Rouge seems to be one of the clusters of Stanford victims,” says Dunlap.—Timothy Boone