Judge says Stanford victims can move forward with class action suit

A Baton Rouge judge cleared the way today for anyone in Louisiana who lost money in the Stanford Group debacle to join a class action lawsuit against entities that allegedly enabled the $7 billion Ponzi scheme. In a decision issued this morning, 19th Judicial District Judge R. Michael Caldwell ruled that any Louisiana residents who did business with the Stanford Group and any out-of-state investor who did business with the Stanford Trust—a separate entity that mostly handled individual retirement accounts—has the right to join the class, provided their investments were made after Jan. 1, 2007. “This is a big deal,” says attorney Phil Preis, who represents the investors. “This is the first class to be certified in the Stanford litigation, and it means the people of Louisiana will finally have their day in court.” There is no word on when that day may come, as an appeal is expected by the defendants, which include the Stanford Trust, trust administrator SEI—a major international firm—and the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. Preis estimates as many as 2,000 investors who collectively lost some $750 million are eligible to join the class. —Stephanie Riegel