Stanford should get 230 years in prison - Prosecutors

CMC – Federal prosecutors want the convicted fraudster Allen Stanford, described as a “ruthless predator” to be given the maximum penalty of 230 years in prison at his sentencing next week.



Prosecutors made their request to US District Judge David Hittner in documents filed on Wednesday.



Hittner is set to sentence Stanford on June 14.



However, Stanford has asked that his sentence be limited to the three years he spent in jail awaiting trial.



In March, a jury found the flamboyant 62-year-old Texas financier found guilty of defrauding more than 20,000 investors of $7 billion, through the sale of bogus certificates of deposit at his Stanford International Bank.



Federal prosecutors said 230 years is at the top of the range of sentences for Stanford’s crime under US federal guidelines but is appropriate given the tycoon’s apparent hubris and lack of remorse.



Stanford has asked the court for leniency, partly because the conviction is his first offence, prosecutors said.



Prosecutors said his lawyers have asked for a prison sentence of 31 to 44 months.



Stanford has been in jail since June 2009, when the indictment was issued after the court deemed the Texan to be a flight risk.



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