HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Allen Stanford’s lawyers on  Tuesday asked an appeals court for the second time to review a  judge’s decision denying the accused swindler bail.

Last month, U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston  issued an order denying pleas from Stanford’s lawyers and  family that he be released from jail due to his deteriorating  mental and physical health.

Stanford, 59, was first deemed a flight risk and denied bail  by Hittner in June last year.

The judge’s initial decision was  appealed and upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for  the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans.

Stanford is in a federal detention center in Houston  awaiting his January 2011 trial.

The Texas financier surrendered to authorities on June 18  after prosecutors charged him with leading a $7 billion Ponzi  scheme centered on certificates of deposit issued by his  offshore bank in Antigua.