Pendergest Holt Cops a Plea

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Wednesday, 20 June 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - Reports have surfaced to the effect that Laura Pendergest Holt, who worked with R. Allen Stanford as his chief investment officer, has concluded a plea deal with federal authorities.

Pendergest Holt has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to charges of assisting Stanford in carrying out his US$7B Ponzi scheme. As part of the bargain she will serve three years in prison for her role in the fraud.

The plea bargain remains officially under wraps, and Justice Department officials declined to confirm or deny that a deal had been arranged; but leaks indicate that the majority of the charges laid against Pendergest Holt will be withdrawn, with the sole exception of a single charge of obstructing a federal investigation.

Pendergest Holt, who continues to protest her innocence, is expected to face trial in September. She officially faces several charges relating to her role in facilitating the operations of the Stanford fraud.

R. Allen Stanford has already been sentenced to 110 years in federal prison. Prosecutors had originally demanded a sentence of 230 years. Stanford is appealing his conviction.

In 2009 federal prosecutors charged Pendergest Holt with conspiring to mislead investors. She allegedly told prospective investors in Stanford Financial Group Co. that she was responsible for managing the investment portfolio of Stanford International Bank Ltd. In reality, Pendergest Holt might have played a relatively minor role in the bank’s operations.

Stanford, 62, was convicted of organizing an international pyramid scheme. In such Ponzi-style frauds revenues contributed by new investors joining the pyramid at lower levels are used to pay attractive returns to those who came on board earlier.

The once-powerful international financier is thought to have squandered huge sums of investors’ money on a lavish lifestyle that included sponsoring a single international cricket match to the tune of US$20 million.

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