Stanford gets September 12 trial date

 CHICAGO (CMC):

Allen Stanford, the Texas-born financier, who is accused of using his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd (SIB) to run a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme will go on trial from September 12, according to court documents released here.

Stanford, who had his knighthood revoked by the Antigua and Barbuda government following his arrest last year, is accused of running a US$7-billion Ponzi scheme, US prosecutors said.

Stanford, 60, has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen counts of fraud, money laundering and obstruction, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Stanford has filed a $7.2-billion countersuit in February against federal agents, alleging violations of his civil rights and illegal prosecution.

In January, US District Judge David Hittner ruled Stanford incompetent to stand trial.

Stanford has been treated at a hospital in the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina to treat an addiction to an anti-anxiety medication he developed while in jail.