A fifth-generation Texan who once resided in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, he holds dual citizenship, as a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda and of the United States.

[2][3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Stanford's offices in Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Tupelo, Mississippi.

[20] His first success in business came from speculating in real estate in Houston after the Texas oil bubble burst in the early 1980s;[21] his father was his partner in this venture.

[19] Early in 2007, Stanford and Baldwin Spencer, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and formerly an ally, began verbally feuding in public.

[25] A former executive told SEC officials that Stanford presented hypothetical investment results as actual historical data in sales pitches to clients.

[27] Federal agents raided the offices of Stanford Financial on February 17, 2009,[28] and treated it as "a kind of crime scene—cautioning people not to leave fingerprints".

He contacted a private jet owner and attempted to pay for a flight to Antigua with a credit card, but was refused because the company would accept only a wire transfer.

[36] He surrendered his passport to federal prosecutors, and hired criminal defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan, who had represented Oliver North.

[8][41] In an interview on April 20 at the law offices of Houston criminal attorney Dick DeGuerin, Stanford denied any wrongdoing.

He had complained of a racing heart while being transported from the private prison in Huntsville, Texas, to the Federal Courthouse in Houston to attend a hearing concerning his attorney, Dick DeGuerin, who had asked the court for permission to withdraw from Stanford's case.

[45] On September 26, 2009, Stanford was hospitalized due to injuries sustained while being severely beaten by another inmate at the Cornell Companies-operated, Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe.

[50] The Williams report found that Kotz "appeared to have a conflict of interest" because he had a personal relationship with an attorney representing Stanford's victims.

[53] The district judge deemed that Stanford's anti-anxiety drug addiction impaired his judgment and therefore made him unfit to stand trial.

The extent to which such frauds wreck people's lives, Henning wrote, amounts to "economic homicide," and such outsized sentences are a way to express society's anger at such conduct.

[13] The former head of Antigua and Barbuda’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), Leroy King, was charged by the US authorities for his involvement in the Stanford’s Ponzi scheme.

[61][73] The FBI and other agencies have been conducting an ongoing investigation of Stanford since 2008 for possible involvement in money laundering for Mexico's Gulf Cartel.

[74] According to The New York Times, Stanford once held a Cook Islands trust called "Baby Mama", with his mistress and two children as beneficiaries.

The trust protected proceeds deposited into Swiss and Isle of Man bank accounts from the sale of a $2.5 million Florida home.

[21] In 2008 the university filed a trademark infringement suit against Stanford, claiming the school's name was being used "in a way that creates public confusion" and is "injurious".

[76] A February 2009 Houston Chronicle article described Stanford as "the leading benefactor, promoter, employer and public persona" of Antigua and Barbuda.

On November 1, 2006, Stanford was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation (KCN) of Antigua and Barbuda by the Antiguan government.

[77] Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, joined the then Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir James Carlisle, to make this announcement during the Silver Jubilee Independence Day Celebration.

The first Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament was held in July and August 2006 where Guyana took 1st place defeating Trinidad and Tobago in the final.