Broke billionaire turns to public defender

September 15, 2009

What happens when you run out of other people's money? If you're facing federal fraud charges, you have to resort to a public defender.

That's the case for Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who's charged with bilking investors out of $7 billion. In addition, the IRS says Standford owes $226 million in taxes.

Unfortunately for Stanford's former clients and Uncle Sam, Stanford apparently doesn't even have enough money to pay his defense attorney.

So that lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, has told the court he wants to withdraw.

Stanford's second choice for legal representation, Robert Luskin, a Washington lawyer and former counsel to White House political adviser Karl Rove, also has indicated he doesn't want the apparently pro bono job.

Given those circumstances, the judge hearing the matter today appointed the federal public defender’s office in Houston to represent Stanford.

Welcome to how the other half lives, Mr. Stanford.

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
The latest Dirty Dozen tax scam list is familiar because too many are still falling for the schemes

March 5, 2026

Tax filing season is also peak time for tax scams. Be on the lookout for…

Read More
Hello Tax Season 2026

Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2025 tax return? I know, too early to ask. But Tax Day 2026 will be here before we realize it. The Internal Revenue Service deadline to file and pay any tax we owe is the regular April 15 date this year. It’s also Tax Day for most of the states that collect income taxes from their residents, which is most of the states! If that seems too far away right now, don’t worry. As is the case every tax season, the ol’ blog’s tips and other tax reminders should help all of us meet our state and federal responsibilities. Procrastinators also will want to keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It tracks how much time we have until April’s Tax Day, just in case we put off our annual tax task until the absolutely final hours and decide we need to instead get an extension request into the IRS by that date. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
Leave your comment