SEC charges Stanford with securities fraud

The SEC has charged businessman R. Allen Stanford and three of his companies, including Stanford International Bank, with an $8 billion securities fraud. The SEC, FBI and other regulatory bodies have been examining the Stanford entities’ marketing practices, which include offering certificates of deposit with unusually high interest rates. Stanford has an office in downtown Baton Rouge. FINRA, a non-governmental regulator of securities firms, visited the local office several weeks ago, one of six branches that investigators went to. Read the SEC’s statement, click here.