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Davis pleaded guilty to two fraud charges and one of obstructing the U.S. financial watchdog's investigation into Stanford. The guilty plea had been expected since Davis has been cooperating with investigators since March, and U.S. District Judge David Hittner accepted the plea, which also calls for Davis to forfeit about $1 billion. The judge set a Nov. 20 sentencing date. Stanford Financial Group's victims, like Bernie Madoff's, will get a chance to address Davis at that hearing. Davis was reportedly contrite in a brief statement. "I apologize and take responsibility for my actions," he said. But Stanford obviously did not take the news well and was rushed to a hospital with an irregular heart beat and a high pulse rate, according to the Houston Chronicle. And as if your college buddy turning against you and a heart attack aren't bad enough, Stanford missed his court appearance to ask for assistance in finding a new attorney. The former billionaire, does not have the funds to pay his lawyers. Hittner has kept Houston criminal defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin on Stanford's case even though DeGuerin asked to be released, and Stanford has asked to be represented by Christina Sarchio and Robert Luskin of the Washington firm of Patton Boggs. But Sarchio and Luskin want assurances they will be paid. Because of a civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the assets of Stanford's companies and his own private assets have been frozen. An insurance policy has not yet paid anything to lawyers in the case. To top it off, Dallas U.S. District Judge David Gobey ruled that Stanford's private equity investment in an Israeli development fund and a luxury Houston hotel can be sold immediately. Stanford had objected saying he hasn't been convicted of any wrongdoing. Court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey won approval to sell several pieces of Stanford's private equity portfolio on an emergency basis to avoid meeting capital calls or diluting the investments, Bloomberg News reported citing an order posted Wednesday by the judge. The transactions "are in the best interest of the receivership estate," the judge wrote.
And on Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that Stanford must stay in jail despite protestations that the case against him lacks merit and that his prison -- well -- has no air conditioning. - Donna Block See Houston Chronicle article
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It's turning out to be a really bad day for alleged Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford. It all started when word spread Thursday morning that James Davis -- Stanford's friend, right-hand man and CFO -- pleaded guilty in a Houston court for his role in the $7 billion fraud.
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