Stanford victims file class action suit against insurers

July 04, 2009 03:40:09 PM

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Two US legal firms announced Friday that they have filed a class action suit against a London-based insurer on behalf of the Mexican victims of fraudulent financier Allen Stanford.

The lawsuit was filed by the Strasburger & Price and Castillo Snyder law firms before a court in Houston and targets Willis Group Holdings -- an insurer headquartered in London, with offices around the world.

Also named in the suit are the Willis office in Colorado, insurance company Bowen, Miclette & Britt, and two unidentified individuals.

The suit accuses Willis Group Holdings of having given Stanford Financial "safe and soundness" letters at Stanford's request.

"The clear intention of the letters was that they be used for marketing purposes to retain or obtain actual or prospective clients for Stanford Financial," the law firms said in a statement announcing the filing.

"This marks an important first step to recover financial assets for defrauded Stanford clients beyond what the United States government is currently pursuing," said Edward F. Valdespino, a Strasburger partner who will serve as one of the lead lawyers on the case.

Allen Stanford, who has been in jail since his arrest by police on June 18, faces 21 charges, including committing fraud worth billions of dollars, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

The charges stem from the nearly ten years he allegedly ran a high-stakes pyramid scheme where he solicited funds from investors without reinvesting their money and used new investments to give existing clients returns.