Editorial: Florida regulators failed in Allen Stanford case
July 7th, 2009
Our Opinion: Investigate state’s role in huge investment swindle
Miami Herald
The state’s role in the operation of accused swindler Allen Stanford stinks. As reported in a detailed story in this newspaper on Sunday, Florida regulators allowed Mr. Stanford to set up a dubious, one-of-a-kind office to handle vast investments, but never bothered to find out what he was doing with the money or whether he was playing by the rules.
If they had actually performed due diligence — in other words, done their job — they might have caught Mr. Stanford, or at least closed his shop, before he managed to get away with the nearly $7 billion that prosecutors say he unlawfully diverted. In fact, if they had possessed even a slight regard for the wellbeing of potential customers, they would not have given Mr. Stanford a clean bill of health to begin with.
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