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Prosecutors ask judge for Stanford trial date
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| Published on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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HOUSTON, USA (Reuters) -- US prosecutors asked a federal judge on Tuesday to set a trial date for Allen Stanford, the former Texas billionaire accused of leading an alleged $7 billion fraud.
"Given the more than three months that have elapsed since the defendant's initial appearances in this case, the United States recommends that the court set a prompt trial date," Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Costa wrote in a court filing.
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Allen Stanford.
Bloomberg photo |
Stanford and three other defendants are due in federal court in Houston for a status hearing on Wednesday.
The defendants and their lawyers have now been provided access to the documents, more than 4 million pages, they would need to help prepare for trial, Costa said in the court filing.
Still, Stanford's lawyer argued in a separate court filing that it is too early to set a trial date because there is much work to be done.
"Due to the voluminous amount of discovery and documents, the vast amount of witnesses that need to be located and interviewed, and the complexity of the case, counsel requests that the court not set a trial date at this time," Kent Schaffer, Stanford's attorney said in the filing.
Stanford, who was arrested on June 19, faces 21 criminal counts and remains in jail. He is accused of masterminding an alleged scheme where fraudulent certificates of deposit were sold to clients.
Judge Hittner ordered public defenders to take the case on Sept. 15 after Stanford failed to come up with the funds to retain a team of defense attorneys. | | | | Reads : 876 | | | |
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