Cricket tycoon Stanford’s fraud case delayed over mental incompetence to face trial

WASHINGTON - The upcoming trial of former Texas billionaire and cricket tycoon R. Allen Stanford, accused of fleecing investors out of seven billion dollars in a pyramid scheme, has been delayed after a federal judge declared that he is mentally incompetent to go forward with his case.

According to the Daily Mail, Stanford’s trial was set to begin on January 24, but U.S. District Judge David Hittner agreed to delay its start until the financier can be treated for several medical problems that are affecting his competency.

Although the judge did not specify the time period of the delay, but defence attorneys are asking for at least a two-year delay to deal with his medical problems and various legal issues related to getting ready for trial.

Hittner reportedly made his decision after a daylong hearing in which three psychiatrists testified that Stanford is not legally competent to be a part of the trail because of a brain injury he suffered during a jail fight in September 2009 for which he now takes heavy doses of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs.

Stanford and three ex-executives of his now-defunct Houston-based Stanford Financial Group are accused of orchestrating a colossal pyramid scheme in 2009 by advising clients from 113 countries to invest more than 7 billion dollars in certificates of deposit at the Stanford International Bank on the island of Antigua, promising huge returns.

However, Stanford’s attorneys have denied the allegations against him, saying he ran a legitimate business and didn’t misuse bank funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle. (ANI)