Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer for Stanford Financial Group, will be allowed to remove her court-ordered electronic GPS device, according to the Houston Chronicle. Judge Mary Milloy, a U.S. Magistrate, said Tuesday that Pendergest-Holt instead will be required to report to officials every two weeks. It is unclear why Pendergest-Holt is being allowed to remove the device other than a planned move from her home state of Mississippi to North Carolina. To read more about her release, click here.
News of the court softening on Pendergest-Holt comes a day after the Chronicle reported on the drama surrounding R. Allen Stanford’s legal representation. Stanford’s attorneys, Jacks C. Nickens and Dick DeGuerin, have withdrawn from representing the financier accused of running an elaborate $8 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a Monday court filing. Recent statements from the Antigua-based receiver for Stanford International Banks indicate that Stanford may have used SIB as a personal piggy bank — spending millions on personal real estate, yachts and jets — while using additional funds to bankroll Stanford company expansions. To read more about news from the Antiguan receiver click here.—Olivia Watkins
