Godbey
DALLAS (Legal Newsline) - Two Louisiana defense firms have been accused of helping finance mogul R. Allen Stanford misappropriate $7 billon in funds from investors.
Stanford is currently enmeshed in a criminal trial where he is accused of the second biggest case of investor fraud in the country's history after that of Bernie Madoff. Stanford has been in custody since 2009 while his former companies have been in the receivership of Ralph S. Janvey.
Janvey, on behalf of the Official Stanford Investors Committee, filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against New Orleans-based Adams and Reese, LLP and Baton Rouge-based Breazeale, Sachse and Winston, LLP.
The defendants are accused of helping financier Stanford and Stanford Financial defraud investors of more than $7 billion from 1998 to 2009.
The defendants are alleged to have been complicit in Stanford's supposed criminal actions and the plaintiffs are attempting to hold them liable for their reputed bad actions.
Damages in the amount of $1.8 million are being sought by the plaintiff.
A similar suit was filed on Feb. 17, 2011, but was dismissed due to some of the defendants never being served.
Janvey is being represented by Guy M. Hohmann of Austin-based Hohmann, Taube and Summers, LLP.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey.