Allen Stanford jailed for 110 years for $7bn Ponzi

Allen Stanford had blamed a former chief financial officer

Disgraced tycoon Allen Stanford has been sentenced to 110 years in jail for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $7bn (£4.5bn).

The scheme was described as one of the largest in US history.

In court, Stanford denied any guilt, telling the judge at his sentencing hearing: "I did not defraud anybody."

A Texan banker, Stanford rose to prominence outside the US when he bankrolled international cricket competitions in the UK and Caribbean.

But after the collapse of his agreement to stage Twenty20 cricket in England, his financial empire began to crumble amid investigations by US regulators.

Forbes Magazine listed him as the 605th richest man in the world in 2006.

However, since his arrest in 2009 he has spent three years in detention after being denied bail.

Shifting blame

Stanford's Ponzi scheme centred on his banking operation based in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18450893