17. Allen Stanford: The Dark Knight
Aired: 8/1/2012
Sir Allen Stanford was once one of the richest men in America. He lived and loved the high life - cruising around the world on private jets and helicopters and bouncing between multiple mansions. He even bought his own island for $63 million. But it was all based on lies. His company, The Stanford Financial Group, made its name selling what’s usually a safe bet for investors – certificates of deposits. He claimed the CDs came from his offshore bank on the island of Antigua, and because of that, the company offered return rates higher than those in the U.S. When the lies grew too big and his money supply dried out – he was convicted of running an international $7 billion Ponzi scheme, and is serving a 110-year sentence in federal prison. He left a trail of some 20,000 burned investors, many of whom now live in financial ruin.
