Law firm representing R. Allen Stanford in civil case files motion to withdraw as counsel

Law firm asks to drop R. Allen Stanford as client

DALLAS — Lawyers from one of the three firms defending R. Allen Stanford in his civil case have asked a judge to let them drop the jailed Texas financier as a client.

Attorneys from the law firm Patton Boggs filed a motion in federal court in Dallas this week to withdraw as Stanford’s counsel.

The former billionaire, whose assets were frozen when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit alleging he masterminded a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, has been hiring, firing and driving away attorneys since his legal troubles exploded last year.

Stanford and three executives of his now defunct Houston-based Stanford Financial Group face a criminal trial in Houston in January on similar charges including money laundering, wire and mail fraud. They deny the allegations.

The Patton Boggs attorneys are one of three firms representing Stanford in the civil trial. He is on his fourth set of attorneys in his criminal case, including one he fired who remains on the case under order from a federal judge.

In the latest motion, the lawyers from Patton Boggs cited difficulties in communicating with Stanford. They added that they have “irreconcilable differences” on case strategy with Stanford’s criminal lawyer, Robert Bennett, according to the motion, which was filed Wednesday.

“There is lots of overlap between the SEC action and the criminal action,” said Patton Boggs attorney Christina Sarchio. “There has to be coordination between the two groups in order to best serve Mr. Stanford — and that is just not happening.”

Bennett did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

Stanford is also represented in the civil case by Houston lawyer Michael Sydow and Washington lawyer Ruth Brewer Schuster. Neither attorney immediately responded Friday to messages left by The Associated Press.

One reason so many lawyers have come and gone is there was uncertainty over whether they would be paid. Stanford’s legal fees are being paid by an insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London. The insurer says it has already paid out more than $6 million to lawyers from 10 firms, including about $725,000 to the attorneys from Patton Boggs.

About $3.9 million has been spent on Stanford’s lawyers in the criminal case, and about $2.4 million on his lawyers in the civil case. The insurer is balking at additional costs, citing a clause saying it doesn’t have to pay on the policy if money laundering was involved.

Stanford, who denies the criminal and civil allegations made against him, was once considered one of the wealthiest people in the United States, with an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion.

But the government alleges his financial empire was a sham, built by promising huge returns on certificates of deposits sold at Stanford’s bank in Antigua to more than 20,000 investors from 113 countries. Instead, authorities say, Stanford and his top executives fabricated the bank’s balance sheets, bribed Antiguan regulators and used investors’ money to pay for his lavish lifestyle.