R. Allen Stanford convicted of $7 billion fraud

HOUSTON, March 6 (UPI) -- U.S. billionaire financier R. Allen Stanford was convicted in Houston Tuesday of running a massive Ponzi scheme through an offshore bank.

A federal jury convicted the 61-year-old Texas banker of all but one count of an indictment alleging the $7 billion fraud. He was acquitted of a single wire fraud count alleging he bought Super Bowl tickets for a bank regulator in Antigua, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The verdict came a day after jurors told U.S. District Judge David Hittner they couldn't reach a unanimous decision. The judge ordered them to keep deliberating, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Prosecutors allege Stanford and others defrauded investors in certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank in Antigua. Stanford was accused of investing the money in risky real-estate assets and his own businesses, as well as to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Stanford's defense lawyers said their client ran a legitimate business and was paying back investors until the Securities Exchange Commission raided his office and froze his assets in 2009.

The New York Times said the most damaging testimony came from Stanford's former college roommate James Davis, who worked as Stanford's chief financial officer. Davis, who pleaded guilty to fraud and obstruction of justice, testified Stanford's business was a fraud and said the financier was a charismatic bully who intimidated employees to do his bidding, the newspaper said.