R. Allen Stanford Found Guilty on Most of the Charges Against Him

A federal jury in Houston today found financier R. Allen Stanford guilty on 13 of 14 charges against him. Stanford was accused of swindling $7 billion dollars from investors in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Stanford was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to obstruct a SEC investigation, one count of obstruction of an SEC investigation and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The 61 year-old Stanford showed little emotion as the verdict was read. Stanford faces up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charges against him. However, if the judge orders his sentences to be served concurrently, rather than consecutively, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Prosecutors had said Stanford's scheme lasted 20 years and it was run through his Caribbean bank. Stanford's attorney's blamed an ex-CFO for the scheme.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report