Stanford accounts unfrozen by judge

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge lifted a freeze on about 12,000 investor accounts with Texas billionaire financier R. Allen Stanford that were valued at $250,000 or less as of Feb. 28. U.S. District Judge David Godbey lifted the freeze in Dallas at the request of the court-appointed receiver in the Stanford case.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Stanford of conducting an $8 billion investment fraud. Godbey's order "unfreezing" the roughly 12,000 accounts held at the clearing firm Pershing LLC takes effect on Monday.

Thousands of investor accounts have been frozen under a restraining order and Stanford's companies have been in receivership since the SEC filed its civil complaint against Stanford on Feb. 17. The lawsuit says Stanford lied about the safety of investments sold by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank as certificates of deposit. It also says he promised unrealistically high rates of return.

Stanford has been ordered to surrender his passport but has not been charged with a crime. An attorney representing Stanford has said his client denies the allegations made by the SEC.
 

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