In Plea Deal, Ex-Stanford CFO Tells Of Blood Oaths, Bribes And Fake Profits

HOUSTON (AP) -- The former finance chief for jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford said his boss created a business empire where blood oaths were taken to secure loyalty, bribes were paid from a secret Swiss bank account and investor profits were more fiction than financial genius.
New details about how Stanford allegedly bilked investors out of $7 billion were made public Thursday after James M. Davis, Stanford's former chief financial officer, became the first person to plead guilty in the case.
Davis pleaded guilty in Houston federal court to three counts: conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; mail fraud; and conspiracy to obstruct a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. The plea is part of a deal Davis, who has been helping prosecutors, made with the Justice Department in exchange for a possible reduced sentence.
His plea came hours after Stanford was taken from the privately run prison where he is being held outside Houston to a local hospital with an irregular heartbeat and high pulse. Stanford had been set to appear in the same courtroom for a hearing on whether he can get a new attorney. U.S. Marshals spokesman Alfredo Perez said Stanford was undergoing tests at the hospital but declined to give more details.
Davis, 60, only made a brief statement after his hearing.
"I did wrong. I'm sorry. I apologize. I take responsibility for my actions," he told reporters outside the courthouse. LinkHere