Judge denies Stanford’s request for a new trial

U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Thursday denied a request for a new trial from convicted former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford. Stanford’s attorneys had argued the financier didn’t get a fair trial because extensive pretrial publicity might have been prejudicial and because jurors might have seen tweets from reporters covering the trial. Stanford was convicted earlier this month on 13 fraud-related charges for misusing money from investors who bought certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank to pay for his businesses and his lavish lifestyle. Prosecutors said he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion. His attorneys said he was a legitimate businessman. The 61-year-old is set to be sentenced on June 14 and could spend the rest of his life behind bars. In other Stanford-related news, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit this week reinstated a multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit involving local victims whose losses are estimated to account for up to $1 billion of the total amount Stanford is said to have swindled. Read a Daily Report article on that ruling here.