LOCKED AWAY

Stanford Sentenced to 110 Years

For $7 billion Ponzi scheme that spanned 113 countries.

Allen Stanford, the Texas financier who was convicted last year of a $7 billion Ponzi scheme involving 30,000 people in some 113 countries, was sentenced to 110 years in jail by a federal judge on Thursday. Stanford made a plea to the court, defiantly fighting back tears and blaming his financial woes on the government. “We could have paid off every depositor and still have substantial assets remaining,” Stanford said. The federal prosecutor, William J. Stellmach, called Stanford’s comment “obscene.” A federal jury in March found Stanford guilty of 13 out of 14 counts of fraud, and prosecutors have argued that he consistently lied to investigators.