Leroy King sanctioned for involvement in Allen Stanford’s Ponzi Scheme

Leroy King, a former head of Antigua and Barbuda’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), has been sanctioned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme run by Allen Stanford.

US authorities charged King with several offenses relating to Stanford’s fraud scheme, in which he misappropriated $7 billion from his Stanford International Bank (SIB) to fund his endeavors.

He was extradited to the US in November 2019 and pleaded guilty to obstructing a proceeding before the SEC and to conspiracy to obstruct a Commission proceeding in United States v. Leroy King.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2021.

As part of his plea agreement, King was barred from associating with brokers, dealers, or investment advisers.

He is also prohibited from participating in any offering of a penny stock, including acting as a promoter, finder, consultant, agent, or other person who engages in activities with a broker, dealer, or issuer for purposes of the issuance or trading in any penny stock, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any penny stock.

King was responsible for Antigua’s regulatory oversight of the investment portfolio of SIBL, which sold purported certificates of deposit to investors.

He was also a member of the board of directors of ASD Financial Services Corp, a US-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser based in Miami, Florida.

King admitted to accepting bribes that benefitted Stanford and his organizations.

In exchange for malfeasance, He received over half a million dollars in cash, Super Bowl tickets, and private jet flights.

The wrongdoings include causing the FSRC to fail to exercise its regulatory functions by independently verifying the existence and value of SIBL’s investments, providing information about official inquiries that the FSRC had received from multiple regulators including the SEC, and allowing Stanford and his employees to draft responses that contained false and misleading statements and assertions.

King even facilitated using the FSRC letterhead on those responses, after which they were sent out as if the FSRC had prepared them. He also made false representations in response to the official inquiries of regulators, including the SEC.

Stanford, the founder and former head of SIBL, was sentenced to 110 years in prison in June 2012 for his role in the two-decade investment fraud scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, five other persons were convicted for their roles in the scheme and received sentences ranging from three to 20 years in federal prison.

The SEC has confirmed the authenticity of the document and the outlined sanctions but has declined to comment further on the matter or any related findings.