How Stanford used celebrities to convince investors he was a credible businessman
By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:55 PM on 22nd February 2009
Tarnished: Stanford used high-profile events such as Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament in Antigua to dupe investors
Billionaire financier Sir Allen Stanford manipulated his links with the British royal family, sports stars, politicians and celebrities to convince investors that he was a trustworthy businessman, it has been revealed.
The flamboyant Texan boss is at the centre of a multi-billion dollar U.S. fraud charge for allegedly selling $8 billion in certificates of deposit with improbably high interest rates from his Stanford International Bank in Antigua.
In publicity material, Stanford Financial Group (SFG) used famous names such as English footballer Michael Owen, Prince Edward, Duchess of York and U2 singer Bono to give Stanford impeccable credentials.
On its website, SFG promotes its sponsorship of the Stanford Charity Polo Day (formerly Sandhurst Charity Polo Day), hosted by Prince Charles in aid of the British Forces Foundation at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
An article in SFG's magazine, Eagle, displays a photograph of Prince Harry, who played in another Stanford-sponsored polo event, according to The Observer.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has also been pictured at Standford's tournaments with his executives.
In 2007, Stanford signed up Fijian golfer Vijay Singh to feature in company logo representations, make personal appearances and be included in Stanford branding initiatives, it was reported in The Observer.
English striker Michael Owen was also signed up to a similar deal as a 'global ambassador for Stanford's expanding worldwide presence'.
Other famous faces used by Stanford include George W. Bush, Prince Charles and Prince Edward.
Used: Stanford boasted about his links to the British royal family, using faces such as Prince Harry and Sarah Ferguson to promote his business
Standford, 58, has long tried to give the impression of wealth and fame, saying he was a 'world-renowned former cricketer', and was related to the founder of Stanford university.
There is no evidence that the Texan played cricket at any significant level, and his personal links with Stanford university have been proven untrue.
It has also emerged that the helicopter with an impressive logo in gold lettering emblazoned across the side - that Standford used to touch down at Lord's cricket ground - was not owned by him, as he suggested.
Sports stars: Stanford signed deals with Michael Owen and Vijay Singh to represent Stanford Financial
In a further twist, the $20 million fortune in prize money he pledged for cricketers in the controversial Stanford 20/20 Tournament - displayed ostentatiously in a locked treasure chest - could have contained just $100,000.
Randy Shain, vice-president of First Advantage Investigative Services in the U.S. said people had been easily seduced by Stanford's sales pitch.
'If people had done even an effective news search they would not be in the position they are in now,' he told The Observer.
'A lot of them are going to lose their money.'
Famous links: Bono features in Stanford Group's corporate responsibility reports and George W. Bush presented him with the Excellence in Leadership Award at the Inter-American Economic Council in 2006
Stanford cleverly used royals, celebrities and sports starts to bolster his profile and reassure his investors at a time when his operations were being questioned.
Clients were also duped by Stanford's claims of having a rich provenance.
'The Stanford tradition dates back to 1932, when Lodis B. Stanford started Stanford Insurance Company in the small central Texas town of Mexia in the midst of the Great Depression,' the website states.
In fact, Stanford Financial started life in 1987 as the Guardian International Bank in the British territory of Montserrat.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen today described Stanford as a 'sleazebag' and insists the end of the team's lucrative partnership with the American is 'not a bad thing'.
It's over: Kevin Pietersen (right) is glad the English cricket team no longer have a relationship with Stanford (left)
'Stanford was a sleazebag. I was very uncomfortable with the whole Stanford thing,' he told News of the World.
Pietersen was another famous face recruited to the Stanford cause.
He had a deal with Stanford to promote the infamous winner-takes-all clash between England and the Stanford Superstars in November last year, which ended in an embarrassing defeat for England.
'It was not that I was captain at the time, it was the uncomfortable situation of everybody thinking the England team had been sold,' Pietersen said.
'With the financial state of the world, people were talking about money instead of cricket.
'Those kind of things just didn't seem right to me, so it's not a bad thing we are not going to have that tournament any more.
'I was an ambassador for Stanford - a player face - but that contract has gone.'
Share this article:
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
He always seemed fishy to me, right from the start. I just knew it would all end in tears.
Celebrities sell big time.They earn a fortune for a few seconds on TV ads. It works. But personally I would not want to be influenced by Celebs who have no knowledge or interest in what they are advertising. A great exception was the boss of the electric shaver (Remington I think) who as head of the company had right to talk about it.
Add your comment
FEMAIL TODAY
- EastEnders star Wendy Richard dies after losing her battle with cancer The 65-year-old's husband John Burns was at her bedside
- Jack Tweed pleads for curfew to be lifted to be with Jade The 21-year-old has asked for a suspended tag so he can be by her side for her final hours
- What made Katie cry? Miss Holmes has a teary moment in the street just like Suri Mrs Cruise pictured on the set of new movie The Extra Man
- Brad and Angelina take the children to see The Little Mermaid An outing to the theatre for Shiloh, Maddox, Pax and Zahara
- Corrie sweethearts Nikki Sanderson and Danny Young split after four years The pair, whose characters briefly dated, blamed busy careers
- What happened when I wore a fat suit to London Fashion Week KATE FAITHFULL reports from the world where it's de rigueur to be stick thin and eating is a dirty word
- MasterChef favourite runs catering firm after quitting job as BT exec to pursue passion for food Andy 'pigeon ravioli' Oliver is in tonight's BBC2 final
- Carry on EastEnders as Peggy unwittingly reveals racy picture of herself in a corset to the whole of the Queen Vic A blast from the past for Barbara Windsor
- Drink-drive shame of David Walliams' teen girlfriend Lauren Budd, 18, got a two-year ban and underwent alcohol counselling
- Sarah Harding rocks the NME awards... and parties so hard she manages to lose one of the winners' trophies The singer put Elbow's noses out of joint
- Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto stars in smouldering new shoot for Vogue magazine The 24-year-old has gone from unknown to cover girl
- Tamara Beckwith shows off baby Violet, her pink bundle of joy The socialite went about her chores with the four-week-old
- Are those really tights? Raunchy rock chick Pixie keeps NME guests in suspenders The younger Miss Geldof turned heads at awards do with strange outfit
- Megan Fox transforms from fiancée to single woman The tattooed action film star and lads' mag pin-up has broken off her engagement
- Pictured: The moment innocent man was killed by shoplifter in supermarket queue-jumping row
- 'I won't give up my £600,000 a year pension': Failed bank boss hits back at Government legal threat
- Millions of bank customers set to receive up to £10bn in refunds after court ruling on rip-off charges
- Obama predicts $1.75TRILLION deficit this year
- Tormented boy, 5, torches home to get family to move away from violent estate
- Teenage office worker 'sacked for branding her job boring on Facebook'
- Pictured: Britain's first indoor office helter skelter sees staff slide down three floors in just seven seconds
- 'Radioactive' child porn suspect on the run
- Dole cheat single mother given 100 years to pay back £70,000 in stolen benefits
- Newborn baby died from mother's kiss after being infected with coldsore virus
- Aspiring model, 19, kills herself after drunken row with friends
- Lib Dem councillor facing calls to resign after dressing as Nazi storm-trooper
- Teen pregnancies rise for first time since 2002
- Girl, 13, sent home from school for having 2mm of pink stitching on her black shoes
- Police officers 'taunted two black colleagues with ape impressions'
- Promising young female doctor found dead in bed on holiday in Iceland
- Police probe after UK student dies in Uganda during gap year helping child victims of war
- Sleaze watchdog criticises Brown over office sub-let
- Ministers admit Britain DID hand over terror suspects to U.S. for extraordinary rendition
- Record truancy as 63,000 children skip school each day
- Mandelson offers Labour rebels new deal on Royal Mail
- Civil servants ready to pay £2,000 each (of your cash) to hear Islamic extremist preach
- British soldiers to wear helmets filled with shock-absorbing gel
- Brave baby has both arms and legs amputated after catching meningitis
- Two British tourists die after taking heroin 'they thought was cocaine'
- 'Our beautiful boy': David Cameron and his wife mourn the death of their disabled son Ivan
- Air Corps instructor convicted of having sex with 15-year-old cadet
- British man dies in Alps family ski holiday horror
- MORE HEADLINES
- The moment innocent man was killed by shoplifter in Sainsbury's queue-jumping row
- 'Our beautiful boy': David Cameron and wife mourn death of their disabled son
- Schoolgirl, 15, earned £100,000 a year as an upmarket prostitute
- Teenage office worker sacked for branding her job boring on Facebook
- 'I won't give up my £600,000 a year pension': Failed bank boss hits back at Government legal threat
- Dole cheat single mother given 100 years to pay back £70,000 in stolen benefits
- Children find newborn girl in Tesco bag outside London flat
- Girl, 3, raised by dogs in her home after her alcoholic mother neglected her
- Millions of bank customers set to receive up to £10bn in refunds after court ruling on rip-off charges
- BT, TalkTalk and Virgin set to track and cash in on surfing habits of 11million customers
- Tormented boy, 5, torches home to get family to move away from violent estate
- Promising young doctor found dead on holiday struck down by rare brain condition
- Stupid Cupid! Soldier who streaked on football pitch firing love arrows is ditched by girlfriend and could face a court martial
- Civil servants pay £2,000 each (of your cash) to hear Islamic extremist preach
- Killed by a kiss: Mother passed on cold sore to newborn whose organs shut down
- Heating was off for TEN days at the care home where eight residents died
- Schoolgirl, 13, sent home for having pink stitching on her black shoes
- Photographer Annie Leibovitz pawns her life's work for a £10m loan to pay her mortgage
- Pensioner spends 30 years building amazing model of Herod's Temple ... but admits he won't be around to finish it
- Pictured: Woman becomes a mermaid after 'Lord of the Rings' special effects shop gives her new prosthetic
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
I guess, people are blinded by supposed wealth and their brain does not function properly anymore.
- Julie, London, w8, 22/2/2009 16:54