Washington -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday accused Stanford Financial Group Co. chief Robert Sanford of orchestrating an $8 billion CD fraud.
The SEC said U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor had issued a temporary restraining order to freeze Stanford's assets and appoint a receiver "to marshal those assets."
Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's Enforcement Division said the complaint includes allegations that "Stanford ... perpetrated a massive fraud based on false promises and fabricated historical return data to prey on investors."
"We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world," Regional SEC Director Rose Romero said.
The SEC alleges the Stanford International Bank sold about $8 billion of "so-called certificates of deposit" to investors "by promising improbably and unsubstantiated high interest rates."

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