HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas financier R. Allen Stanford could be in jail up to the next year waiting for his trial on charges alleging he swindled investors out of $7 billion.
In a written order, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled day that Stanford is a “serious flight risk.”
The order granted a request by prosecutors to reverse a decision last week by a magistrate judge to grant the once highflying financier a $500,000 bond.
Stanford has been in custody since being indicted and arrested June 18.
Stanford’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said he was disappointed with the decision and would appeal it to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Jury selection in the trial of Stanford and his co-defendants is set for Aug. 25. But DeGuerin said preparing for the trial could take up to a year.