Tearful Allen Stanford threatens to punch a reporter in the face David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

Published: Tuesday April 7, 2009





Print This Email This R. Allen Stanford thinks the charges against him are "bologna." And if pushed, he might just punch a reporter in the face.



Speaking with ABC's Brian Ross, Stanford gave a tearful, occasionally angry rebuttal to allegations that his business was a fraudulent Ponzi investment scheme and that he'd worked with Mexican drug cartels.



Strangely enough, Stanford did not respond to a question by Ross about alleged involvement with the CIA.



"I would die and go to hell if its a Ponzi scheme," Stanford said. "It's not a Ponzi scheme. If it was a Ponzi scheme, why are they finding billions and billions of dollars all over the place?"



"The SEC says it has frozen all of Stanford's assets it has found, including $4.6 billion which a federal judge recently 'unfroze' so it could be distributed to his depositors and customers," reported ABC. "According to SEC officials, only $500 million connected to the alleged fraud has been recovered so far."



While Stanford said he expects to be indicted within a couple weeks, he told Ross, "I'm going to fight this with everything in me."



"You know the allegation," said Ross. "They say that you promised more than you can possibly deliver with your CDs."



"Bologna," said Stanford.



"Authorities tell ABC News that as part of the investigation, which has been ongoing since last year, Mexican authorities detained one of Stanford's private planes," the network reported in February. "According to officials, checks found inside the plane were believed to be connected to the Gulf cartel, reputed to be Mexico's most violent gang. Authorities say Stanford could potentially face criminal charges of money laundering and bribery of foreign officials."



"[L]ast year, Stanford's Venezuelan offices were raided on suspicion that the billionaire was a US government tool, involved in spying," reported Business Insider.



The publication openly speculated whether a 2006 SEC investigation into Stanford that was "waived off" was actually quashed by the CIA.



During the interview, Stanford himself mentioned the allegation of his involvement with the CIA, to which Ross asked, "Are you?"



"Have never and would never," Stanford told Ross, addressing merely the charge of working with drug cartels. "That is something that is absolutely foreign to everything in my body. ... That is something, if someone put a gun to my head, I would not do."



"Something like that, in terms of an allegation is, if you say it to my face again I'll punch you in the mouth."



Taken aback, Ross asked with a chuckle, "Are you gonna punch me in the mouth?"



"No, I'm not going to punch you in the mouth," said Stanford. "But I'm just saying, that is an absolutely ludicrous thing to say."



He did not answer as to whether he had been involved with the CIA.



This video is from ABCNews.com, broadcast Apr. 6, 2009.









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