Stanford having representation challenges
Published:Wednesday | August 5, 2009 | 6:07 PM
A United States court has been told that financier, Sir Allen Stanford, accused of masterminding a US$7 billion Ponzi scheme is having difficulty finding a lawyer to represent him.
Senior US District Judge David Hittner has ordered attorney Dick DeGuerin to continue defending the Texas-born billionaire until he’s replaced by another lawyer unconditionally.
US prosecutors have accused Sir Allen of misleading investors in the massive scheme involving certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.
Last Friday, DeGuerin asked to withdraw from the case because Sir Allen could not guarantee that he would be paid for his work in the future.
Sir Allen also said he had replaced DeGuerin with Washington lawyer Robert Luskin, a managing partner at the law firm, Patton Boggs.
But Luskin later said that the firm was not willing or able to prepare an adequate defense for Stanford without assurances that the lawyers would be paid.