Texas swindler's CFO gets five years after testifying
BY Associated Press
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
1/23/13 at 2:02 AM
The star prosecution witness at the fraud trial of Texas financier R. Allen Stanford expressed remorse Tuesday before being sentenced to five years in prison for helping bilk investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.
James M. Davis, 64, had faced up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to three fraud and conspiracy charges.
At Stanford's trial last year, Davis testified that as chief financial officer of Stanford's companies he helped the financier fake profits at his Antigua bank and fabricate documents to hide the fraud, which involved certificates of deposit that customers thought were safe investments.
"I am ashamed and I'm embarrassed," Davis told U.S. District Judge David Hittner at the sentencing hearing in Houston. "I've perverted what was right and I hurt thousands of investors."
Stanford, a one-time billionaire, was convicted in March on 13 fraud-related counts and sentenced to 110 years in prison.
Hittner ordered Davis to report to federal prison within 60 days, allowing him time to meet with investors who have filed lawsuits against banks, law firms and others accused in the fraud.
Associated Images:
James M. Davis: "I am ashamed and I'm embarrassed," he told the judge. "I've perverted what was right and I hurt thousands of investors."
|
