Prosecutors revamp charges against Stanford

United States federal prosecutors have re-examined the number of charges filed against R. Allen Stanford, but his lawyers said that nothing of relevance had been dropped from the indictment.

Stanford, who is in a US jail awaiting trial related to a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, will now face 14 counts, down from the original 21.

The new indictment, which drops two counts of wire fraud and five counts of mail fraud against Stanford, who US prosecutors said used his Stanford Investment Bank in Antigua to defraud potential investors, also doesn't include four other co-defendants originally charged with him.

But included among the remaining counts are conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud; wire fraud; mail fraud; conspiracy to obstruct a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation; obstruction of an SEC investigation; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

One of Stanford's lawyers, Kenneth McGuire, declined to comment because he is under a gag order.

But another member of the defence team, Ali Fazel, described the original indictment as a mess, and said prosecutors were trying to clean up the charges. However, he told local media that nothing of relevance had been dropped.

A federal judge found 61-year-old Stanford incompetent to stand trial in January and ordered him moved to a medical facility to undergo psychiatric and psychological treatment to ensure his medications don't cause mental impairment. He is currently being held at a federal medical facility in North Carolina.

- CMC