The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities Investor Protection Corp. are arguing over whether to reimburse those who lost money investing with the Stanford Group, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Last month, the SEC recommended that SIPC reimburse, up to $500,000 per claim, those who lost money investing in the $7 billion alleged Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Robert Allen Stanford. But SIPC says those investors are not eligible for restitution, since Stanford’s Houston brokerage didn’t steal certificates of deposits. Stephen P. Harbeck, SIPC president, told the magazine that the agency only protects securities that are stolen or lost in the collapse of a brokerage and not losses from fraud. But the SEC says Stanford sold worthless CDs to investors. The dispute won’t be settled until the SIPC board meets in September. Read the full story here.
Today’s poll question: Should people who lost money from investing with the Stanford Group be eligible to receive some reimbursement?
