HOUSTON (AP) _ A judge is expected to rule Tuesday on whether Texas financier R. Allen Stanford will be free on bond while he
awaits trial on charges he swindled investors out of $7 billion.
Prosecutors want U.S. District Judge David Hittner to revoke Stanford’s $500,000 bond and keep him in jail. Stanford has been in custody since being indicted June 18.
Hittner is expected to rule on the fate of Stanford’s bond, granted last week. Hittner listened to arguments during a four-hour court hearing Monday.
A prosecutor argued Stanford’s international ties make him a serious flight risk and differentiate him from other high-profile fraud defendants, including former Enron Corp. executives Jeffrey killing and Ken Lay, who were freed on bond before their trials.
Stanford’s attorney said his client, who is broke because all his assets have been seized, has a good reason not to flee.