Stanford Investigation Moves Forward

A week after federal agents shut its doors, the Tupelo branch of Stanford Financial remains in limbo.

A week after federal agents raided and closed the Tupelo office of the Stanford Financial Group, people in the area are still in shock. MPB’s Cari Gervin has more.

Last Tuesday the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Texas-born Allen Stanford of running a $8 billion dollar fraud relating to high-yield CD’s. Also charged in the civil complaint are two Baldwyn natives. James Davis is Stanford Financial’s finance chief, and Laura Pendergest-Holt is the firm’s chief investment officer.

Residents of the tiny hamlet 20 minutes north of Tupelo are still flabbergasted. Davis has spent the past several years trying to revitalize downtown Baldwyn and owns most of the buildings on Main Street.

Baldwyn mayor Danny Horton says he has known Davis and Holt for years and doesn’t know what to think.

“Mr. Davis was a very cordial individual, a very nice man. You know, he was the kind of fellow you would meet and sit down and have a cup of coffee with and talk about the ballgames and things of that nature, and so everybody just kind of had an initial shock over it.”

Around 4500 Mississippians have investments in the company totaling almost $400 million dollars. Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman says his office is investigating filing state charges.

“Our first goal in this is to find out all of the facts – how many people were involved, how many accounts were involved, and who has been harmed in this matter.”

The first hearing in the case is scheduled next week in Dallas. For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin in Oxford.