Allen Stanford

Seven Signs Miami Is The Fakest City in America

Only in Miami could our inboxes be flooded with press releases like this Wednesday's police announcement: "Clandestine Dentist Arrested." Oh, thank God, you say. Then you think, what kind of a city has fake dentists? I mean, how hard can it be to graduate from dental school?But this is Miami, quite ... More >>

Fear and Loathing in Tampa: Your Gonzo Guide to the Republican National Convention

Allen Stanford Gets 110 Years In Prison For Massive Ponzi Scheme

Allen Stanford -- the massive Ponzi-schemer and full-time nutter who put his billions in illicit profits into a Coral Gables castle and cricket tournaments in the Caribbean -- was sentenced to more than a century of jail time for his crimes today. A federal judge in Texas sentenced the financier, wh ... More >>

American Samoa Nightmare: Couple Says Miami Company Stranded Them On Tiny Island

When Alan Lara touched down in American Samoa, he was looking for a fresh start. Bluesky Communications, a subsidiary of Miami-based eLandia, had agreed to pay the Mexican engineer and his fiancée to move to the tiny U.S. territory from their home in Guatemala. But months later Lara was abruptly fi ... More >>

Allen Stanford Jury Deadlocked On Charges Against Alleged Miami Ponzi King

​In South Florida, aka Ponzistan, it takes some serious effort to stand out among the Nevin Shapiros and Scott Rothsteins as the most deranged fraudster in town. Allen Stanford worked hard to earn that title, allegedly building an $7 billion scam from Miami and Houston while using the cash to buy ... More >>

Nevin Shapiro and His Attorney Threatened New Times With World's Silliest Lawsuit

via Yahoo SportsNevin ShapiroNevin Shapiro and his Coral Gables attorney, Maria Elena Perez, have the national media eating out of their hands these days. Shapiro is trying to bring down UM's football program, and Perez -- who's not in jail -- has helped him by making TV appearances. But the pair wa ... More >>

Now's Your Chance To Own A Very Tacky Piece Of Allen Stanford's Ponzi Empire

Wave goodbye to that $3 million desk, Allen.​You've got to give Allen Stanford credit for thinking big -- instead of sinking his $8 billion Ponzi scheme profits into the usual uber-rich guy stuff, he bought himself the entire Caribbean nation of Antigua, sponsored giant cricket tourneys (despite b ... More >>

Marguerite Martial Jean Busted for $3.4 Million Ponzi Scheme that Targeted Haitian-American Church Goers

​Given the high profile cases of Bernie Madoff, Scott Rothstein and Allen Stanford, the image of a Ponzi schemer is usually that of some rich white guy with a cigar hanging out of his mouth praying on already well-off investors, but not all schemers fit that bill. Marguerite Martial Jean, a 38-yea ... More >>

Lil Wayne and other famous Miamians owe the IRS millions in back taxes

Lien Times: Meet Some Local Tax Cheats

Weezy F. Baby needs E.F. Hutton​As the tax season draws to a close this week, some of our more recognizable citizens are probably wondering if Uncle Sam will catch them cheating on their taxes again. Take Lil Wayne, who was just popped by the Internal Revenue Service for not paying his fair share ... More >>

Florida Carpenters Union Wages War on TD Bank

The Florida Carpenters strike again, this time against a TD Bank on Biscayne Blvd. in North Miami​From Ohio to Wisconsin, organized labor is under attack. In that mitten-shaped slab of cheese up north, governor Scott Walker used a budget bill to kill collective bargaining. In Ohio, the working man ... More >>

Allen Stanford's Ponzi Trial On Hold While Court Decides If He's Too Crazy To Continue

Stanford at one of his cricket tournaments.​Not to say, 'we told you so,' but when a guy's behavior leads us to write about his similarities to maniac SNL character Bill Brasky, there's a good chance he's got some mental issues. Before he ever got arrested for running an $8 billion Ponzi out of a ... More >>

University of Miami Sued for $6.4 Million in Ponzi Scheme Funds

​The University of Miami sure has a problem with getting caught up with Ponzi schemers. First, high profile athletic booster Nevin Shapiro was busted for a scheme, and now the university is being sued for its involvement in the alleged Ponzi scheme run by Allen Stanford. The suit claims that UM ke ... More >>

Nevin Shapiro: Miami's Caligula

Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford Got Seriously Messed Up In Jailhouse Fight

via the Daily Mail​Allen Stanford, the would-be cricket baron who engineered an $8 billion Ponzi scheme from his Miami headquarters, bought Coral Gables castles for his mistresses, and all-but ruled Antigua as a personal fiefdom, has not had an easy go of it in prison since the fraud disintegrated ... More >>

Convicted NBA Fraudster Rumeal Robinson Joins South Florida's Blown Fortune Hall of Fame

That blindfolded chick holding the scales just made it rain justice on Rumeal Robinson. The former University of Michigan basketball hero and NBA journeyman-- whose addiction to strip clubs was first exposed by this blog-- has been convicted in Iowa federal court of fraud. The Aventura resident was ... More >>

Miami 2009: Seven signs the End Times are nigh

Why Didn't The Herald Write More About Bill Nelson's Stanford Ponzi Problem?

First, let's give the feds some credit.via Texas Monthly​​If the Miami Herald's Sunday story updating the Allen Stanford Ponzi-o-rama is accurate, it took the daily only about ten months to finally begin probing the dozens of federal officials who took millions in cash from the (allege ... More >>

Moron of the Week: Self-Destructive Ponzi Baller Sean Healy

Photo via MySpace.com Never mind the fact hat he dresses like a club promoter. If your investment manager has a MySpace page, get a new investment manager.​Forget Flagler, Tuttle, and Brickell. We need to start naming streets and bridges after a historical figure whose legacy is honored eve ... More >>

President Obama fails to go after those responsible for the financial meltdown

Former Miami DEA Chief Charged with Shredding Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford's Docs

A quick lesson for all the school kids feverishly getting a Riptide fix before class this morning: If you're working for a blatant Ponzi scheme (and don't worry, someday you will) and the SEC phones and tells you not to lose any documents, don't tell your employees to fire up the shredder. It's just ... More >>

Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford Checks into Hospital as His Right-Hand Man Pleads Guilty

It's been an all-around terrible week for Sir R. Allen Stanford, the mastermind of an $8 billion Ponzi scheme run out of a lush downtown Miami office. (Here's our feature about the Miami players in his criminal empire, if you haven't read it.)via Liz Lomax 3D Illustrations for Texas Monthly​F ... More >>

Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford Raked It in Thanks to Lax Florida Regulations

Way back in April, New Times reported on how Sir Allen Stanford built a $7 billion Ponzi scheme in the Caribbean thanks to blind regulators and political influence. via Liz Lomax 3D Illustrations for the Texas MonthlyYesterday, the Miami Herald fleshed out the local incompetance and greed that help ... More >>

Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford Shows up for Hearing in Shackles, Pleads Not Guilty

New Times' favorite accused Ponzi schemer, the island-ownin', mistress-swappin', cricket-lovin' Sir R. Allen Stanford, had his first day in court today.via Liz Lomax 3D Illustrations for Texas MonthlyStanford was finally charged last week with 21 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, a ... More >>

Ponzi Schemer Allen Stanford Finally Indicted, Arrested

Back in April, New Times wrote the first in-depth story about the numerous warning signs over the years that once-billionaire Allen Stanford was running a gigantic $8 billion Ponzi scheme out of Miami, Houston and Antigua.via Wikimedia CommonsStanford in his cricket days.Today, Stanford is finally i ... More >>

Thank You, 'Texas Monthly,' For The Best Allen Stanford Illustration Ever

via Liz Lomax 3D Illustration, for Texas MonthlyTexas Monthly has a new feature story out about disgraced accused Ponzi schemer and frequent reporter threatener 'Sir' Allen Stanford. It's good, although ... cough, cough ... your very own New Times had a pretty good read on the same guy last month, i ... More >>

Letters from the Issue of April 16, 2009

"It's time for the citizens of this country to make the decision to stop paying taxes."

Commemorate Your Ponzi Scheme Losses with a Nice Decorative Tile

Have you been swindled out of your life savings in a massive Ponzi scheme? Are you looking for the perfect way to remember all those heady days of 15 percent returns before the market collapsed? Do you just love R. Allen Stanford's manly Texas mustache? via eBay listing We suggest you buy en ... More >>

The Fall of a Titan

A downtown Miami firm allegedly helped build an $8 billion Ponzi scheme. It could have been stopped.

Allen Stanford Will Punch You in the Mouth If You Ask About His Ponzi Scheme

In a state still reeling from Bernie Madoff and staggering toward 10 percent unemployment, it's tough to think of many adjectives less likely to endear you to the commoners than accused billionaire Ponzi schemer.via mediaimran's flickrStanford, at left, sponsored $20 million cricket matches in the g ... More >>

News Roundup

LocalVice President Biden tried to butter up reps from the biggest union in all the land, AFL-CIO, so they'd support the stimulus bill during a meeting in Miami Beach yesterday. [AP]He also announced $8.4 billion from the stimulus package will benefit transportation, and called the Miami Intermodal ... More >>

Katherine Harris Enjoyed a Nice Caribbean Vay-cay with 'Mini-Madoff' Allen Stanford

There are quite a few South Florida connections to the ongoing "mini-Madoff" scandal surrounding Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, who faces civil charges from the SEC that he orchestrated a "massive, ongoing fraud" to the tune of $8 billion through his Stanford International Bank. Courtesy ... More >>

News Roundup

Well, gosh darn it, ya'll. Your Miami Hurricanes basketballing team lost pretty badly to FSU: 80-67. There goes hopes of finishing out ACC regular-season play with more wins than losses. [Democrat]One of the top producers at Stanford Group's Miami office says he raised red flags about something fish ... More >>

News Roundup

Myriam Marquez takes a closer look at why Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart changed his position on SCHIP. The bill this time included health coverage for legal immigrant children and didn't rely too heavily on tobacco taxes. [Herald]Ex-2 Live Crew frontman and local treasure Uncle Luke was arrested last nig ... More >>

Nelson Campaign Cash Caught up in Stanford Saga Too

Robert Allen Stanford is the latest money manager accused of defrauding his investors out of billions. He is also the latest major Bill Nelson donor caught up in controversy. Yesterday, we told you about the tens of thousands of dollars Sen. Bill Nelson accepted from embattled lobbying firm PMA. ... More >>