Local Financial Analyst Packages Stanford Case for SEC

As we reported on this blog Friday, speculation has been flying through the financial community that Stanford et al could be operating an enormous Ponzi scheme a la Bernie Madoff. Now it's official: The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit in Dallas Monday against Stanford Group Co., seeking to halt what it describes as a "massive, ongoing fraud" perpetrated by billionaire R. Allen Stanford (pictured at the right) and his minions. The SEC has identified roughly $8 billion in certificates of deposit sold by the company that yield questionably high rates of return. Here's the SEC's full complaint.

I called Stanford's Boca Raton office this afternoon and asked to speak with Scott Chaisson, the investment firm's managing director. The secretary at the office responded: "We're not taking any calls right now. Thank you."

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Alex Dalmady, the analyst whose interest in Stanford appears to have triggered the investigation, is based in Weston.