Going through the events of 2009 for my "Year in Review," I was struck by just how bad a year it was for one person in particular: R. Allen Stanford.

Stanford began 2009 as a billionaire "knight" on top of the world, and ended it in prison, with no access to his funds, and reportedly on the verge of a complete physical and mental breakdown. Stanford entered 2009 as the 205th richest person in the U.S. according to Forbes, with a fortune estimated at $2.2 billion. His office at Stanford Financial's Houston headquarters had a private exit for him through his personal bathroom, and included a five-star dining room, movie theater, professional kitchen and wine bar.

Stanford was reportedly "the leading benefactor, promoter, employer and public persona" of Antigua and Barbuda. In 2006, after being knighted by the country (the only American ever granted knighthood), Stanford began using the title "Sir Allen."

But then 2009 started, and Stanford's alleged fraudulent scheme and his life began to unravel:

  • February 2009: The SEC charges Stanford and three of his companies for orchestrating a fraudulent, multi-billion dollar investment scheme centering on an $8 billion CD program.

  • April: Prior to his arrest, Stanford goes on a PR blitz to declare his innocence that includes a televised ABC News interview. The interview seems to go off track when Stanford threatens to punch his questioner in the mouth during the interview.

  • June: In a move apparently intended to show that R. Allen Stanford is not a flight risk and should be allowed to self-surrender and spared a "perp walk," his attorney escorts him to the U.S. Marshal's office to "surrender." The surrender fails when marshals tell Stanford they have no warrant for him and can't take him. Soon thereafter in June, however, Stanford is arrested and the government pulls out all of the stops — orange jumpsuit, handcuffs, perp walk — to make him look bad.


On top of that, while accused mega-fraudsters like Madoff and Marc Dreier were granted bail and allowed to live under "penthouse arrest" pending trial, Stanford's plea for bail is denied and he is immediately sent off to a detention center.




  • July: Stanford asks the court to move him out of the “oppressive” and "intolerable" detention center in which he is being held. The court's response? "Denied."

  • August: Stanford appeals the court's denial of bail to the Fifth Circuit, and loses again.

  • September: Still stuck in the “oppressive” and “intolerable” Joe Corley Detention Facility where he is being held, Allen Stanford is hospitalized following a jail fight. He suffers a concussion, two black eyes, and a broken nose.

  • November: Stanford's year continues to spiral down the drain when the panel that approves candidates for knighthood in the Antigua and Barbuda votes unanimously to rescind the title granted to Stanford in 2006. The vote is unanimous and is based on the "embarrassment Stanford caused the country with the alleged Ponzi scheme he ran from his Antigua-based offshore bank." The country had never before revoked knighthood.

  • December: Stanford makes yet another plea for bail. A psychiatrist tells the court that Stanford has suffered a severe mental and physical deterioration and is in danger of "a complete nervous breakdown" in prison. The petition adds that Stanford has lost 40 lbs in weight in the last 90 days and is being treated for high blood pressure, depression, ulcers and an irregular heart beat. In addition, following the jail fight in August, Stanford had to have reconstructive surgery. He has also lost all feeling on the right side of his face and has been unable to read with his right eye.


On December 24, the court ruled on Stanford's most recent plea for bail. Consistent with the rest of his miserable 2009, the court denied Stanford's request, meaning that he will not be released from jail before his trial in 2011.