HOUSTON — A federal judge has denied a request by convicted former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford for a new trial.
Stanford’s attorneys had argued the financier didn’t get a fair trial due to pretrial publicity and because jurors might have seen tweets from reporters covering the trial.
But U.S. District Judge David Hittner denied the motion on Thursday in a brief order.
Stanford was convicted earlier this month on 13 fraud-related charges for misusing money from investors who bought certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank to pay for his businesses and his lavish lifestyle.
Prosecutors said he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion. His attorneys said he was a legitimate businessman.
Stanford, who turns 62 on Saturday, was convicted on March 6 by a Houston federal jury on 13 of 14 counts related to what prosecutors called the sale of bogus certificates of deposit from his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.
The decision came one day after Stanford's lawyers said their client had been deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.
Among the reasons they cited was a lack of time to prepare a defense, extensive prejudicial pretrial publicity, and the potential that messages sent by reporters from the courtroom via Twitter might have reached jurors during the six-week trial.
Ali Fazel, a lawyer for Stanford, in an interview declined to comment specifically on Hittner's order, but said: "Motions for new trials are filed for many reasons, including making sure we articulate everything so that in an appeal, the appellate court would have a complete record."
Stanford is being held at a Houston federal detention center following his conviction on charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
Stanford’s attorneys had argued the financier didn’t get a fair trial due to pretrial publicity and because jurors might have seen tweets from reporters covering the trial.
But U.S. District Judge David Hittner denied the motion on Thursday in a brief order.
Stanford was convicted earlier this month on 13 fraud-related charges for misusing money from investors who bought certificates of deposit from his Caribbean bank to pay for his businesses and his lavish lifestyle.
Prosecutors said he bilked investors out of more than $7 billion. His attorneys said he was a legitimate businessman.
Stanford, who turns 62 on Saturday, was convicted on March 6 by a Houston federal jury on 13 of 14 counts related to what prosecutors called the sale of bogus certificates of deposit from his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.
The decision came one day after Stanford's lawyers said their client had been deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.
Among the reasons they cited was a lack of time to prepare a defense, extensive prejudicial pretrial publicity, and the potential that messages sent by reporters from the courtroom via Twitter might have reached jurors during the six-week trial.
Ali Fazel, a lawyer for Stanford, in an interview declined to comment specifically on Hittner's order, but said: "Motions for new trials are filed for many reasons, including making sure we articulate everything so that in an appeal, the appellate court would have a complete record."
Stanford is being held at a Houston federal detention center following his conviction on charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
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