HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Financier Allen Stanford will remain in a Texas jail at least until Monday as a federal judge reconsiders his $500,000 bond at the urging of prosecutors who say the accused swindler is a flight risk, according to a ruling on Friday.
Stanford, who faces criminal charges for a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, arrived at the courthouse early yesterday dressed in a suit and ready to walk free after a magistrate judge set the terms of his release following a lengthy hearing on Thursday.
But federal prosecutors, who believe the billionaire is a serious flight risk, asked that Stanford’s bail approval be postponed until U.S. District Judge David Hittner reviewed the matter.
Judge Hittner ordered that Stanford be held in custody at least until a hearing on Monday at 1030 CDT (1530 GMT), where he will consider whether the magistrate’s release order should be revoked.
“The evidence is clear and convincing that Allen Stanford is not a flight risk,” Dick DeGuerin, Stanford’s attorney said in a statement via email.
“To the contrary, Allen Stanford has been spending the months since the SEC first accused him meeting with lawyers in Houston and Washington, D.C. preparing for the fight ahead of him.”
On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy said Stanford may leave federal custody, provided he comes up with $100,000 for a cash bond, lives with his girlfriend in a Houston high-rise apartment and wears a tracking device.