HOUSTON (AP) — Jurors who have listened to weeks of testimony in the fraud trial of former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford soon will decide whether he is a master con man who stole $7 billion from investors or the victim of an unscrupulous business partner and overzealous prosecutors.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were set to make their final pitch to jurors during closing arguments Wednesday at Stanford’s trial in Houston.
Prosecutors say Stanford bilked investors out of more than $7 billion through the sales of certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank.
Stanford’s attorneys claim his ex-chief financial officer was behind the alleged fraud and that the financier’s business empire was legitimate.
If convicted, the one-time billionaire could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. His trial began Jan. 23.
