Hearing set to determine Stanford’s mental competence

R. Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of leading a $7 billion ponzi scheme, faces a Dec. 20 hearing to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial next year, Bloomberg reports. Stanford, 61, returned to Houston earlier this month after a nearly nine-month stay at a U.S. Bureau of Prisons hospital at Butner, N.C. He was treated there for a dependency on anti-anxiety drugs given to him in prison and evaluated for the after-effects of a head injury sustained in a jailhouse assault. Houston U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Tuesday scheduled the competency hearing to determine if Stanford can assist in his defense. In a separate order, the judge ruled Stanford’s criminal trial would start with jury selection on Jan. 23. The former chairman and chief executive officer of Houston- based Stanford Group Co. is accused of misleading investors about the nature and oversight of certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. Stanford, who maintains his innocence, has been in custody since June 2009, when he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston. The court has twice postponed previously scheduled trial dates. Read the full story from Bloomberg here.