United States District Court Northern District of Texas Dallas Division
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Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 1 of 172 PageID 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION RALPH S. JANVEY, in his capacity § as court-appointed receiver for the § Stanford receivership estate; § The OFFICIAL STANFORD § INVESTORS COMMITTEE; § SANDRA DORRELL; § SAMUEL TROICE; and § MICHOACAN TRUST; individually § and on behalf of a class of all others § similarly situated § § Plaintiffs § CIVIL ACTION NO. _________ § VS. § § GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP; § HUNTON & WILLIAMS, LLP; and § YOLANDA SUAREZ § § Defendants § PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT - CLASS ACTION 1 Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 2 of 172 PageID 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. PARTIES ........................................................................................................................... 2 II. OVERVIEW OF CASE .................................................................................................... 4 III. PERSONAL JURISDICTION ......................................................................................... 7 IV. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION & VENUE ...................................................... 8 V. FACTUAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 8 A. The Stanford Financial Group Empire .................................................................... 8 B. Stanford Financial’s Operations in the United States and Texas Base ................. 10 C. The Anatomy of the Stanford Illicit Securities Scheme ........................................ 12 D. Stanford Financial’s Regulatory Obstruction and Concealment Conspiracy ............................................................................................................ 14 E. Stanford Financial Expands Sales into the United States ..................................... 14 F. Stanford Financial Breeds Loyalty Through Exorbitant Compensation ............... 15 G. Dissecting the Fraud.............................................................................................. 16 H. Loumiet and Greenberg Assist Stanford’s Illicit Securities Scheme .................... 18 1. The Beginning: Representing the Rogue Offshore Banker ...................... 18 2. Stanford Flees Montserrat ........................................................................ 23 PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT -CLASS ACTION PAGE i Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 3 of 172 PageID 3 3. Greenberg Assists Stanford to Buy His Way into Antigua ........................ 25 4. Greenberg Helps Stanford to Target and Silence U.S. Regulatory Officials .................................................................................. 29 5. Greenberg Assists Stanford to Silence Journalists ................................... 30 6. Greenberg Acts as Securities Counsel for Stanford ................................. 31 7. Greenberg Knows Stanford is Violating U.S. Securities Laws ................. 32 8. Loumiet Joins Stanford Financial’s Advisory Board................................ 34 9. Greenberg Assists Stanford’s Attempts to Establish Bank Sales Offices in the U.S. ............................................................................ 35 10. Greenberg Continues to Assist Stanford with Repeated U.S. Government Investigations ....................................................................... 37 11. Loumiet Convinces Stanford to Change the Names of his Companies................................................................................................. 38 12. Greenberg Assists Stanford to Consolidate his Influence over Antigua ...................................................................................................... 39 13. Greenberg’s Knowledge of Stanford’s Corruption of Antiguan Officials ..................................................................................... 42 14. Greenberg Helps Stanford Become Antigua’s “Shadow Government” ............................................................................................. 44 15. Greenberg Protects Stanford by Suing Journalists .................................. 45 16. Greenberg Protects Stanford by Threatening U.S. Government Officials ................................................................................ 48 PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT -CLASS ACTION PAGE ii Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 4 of 172 PageID 4 17. Greenberg Conducts a Counter-Intelligence Campaign against the U.S. Government .................................................................... 49 18. Greenberg Assists Stanford to set up Stanford Group Company ................................................................................................... 50 19. Stanford Expands His Massive Real Estate Investments in Antigua ...................................................................................................... 51 20. Greenberg Help Stanford Take Over Antigua’s Banking Regulatory System ..................................................................................... 52 21. Greenberg Advises Stanford on Implications of His Bribery of Antiguan Officials ..................................................................................... 60 22. Greenberg Helps Stanford Establish Representative Offices in the U.S. for Stanford’s Antiguan Trust Company ..................................... 61 23. Greenberg Assists Stanford to Establish Stanford Trust Louisiana .................................................................................................. 68 24. Greenberg Assists Stanford With His Personal IRS Dispute .................... 69 25. Greenberg Represents Stanford in SEC Inquiry ....................................... 70 26. Greenberg Helps Stanford Crush Employee Whistleblower ..................... 73 27. Greenberg Learns Stanford’s Loans to Antigua Violate Antiguan Law ............................................................................................ 75 28. Greenberg Assists Stanford with its Reg D Sales of SIBL CDs to U.S. Citizens .......................................................................................... 76 29. Greenberg Advises Stanford Not to Register as an Investment Company ................................................................................................... 77 PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT -CLASS ACTION PAGE iii Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 5 of 172 PageID 5 30. Greenberg Helps Stanford With Another DEA Investigation ................... 78 31. Greenberg Learns That Stanford is Violating Antiguan Election Laws ............................................................................................ 79 32. Greenberg Discovers Signs that SIBL is a Ponzi Scheme ........................ 80 33. Greenberg Assists Stanford’s Attempt to Buy a U.S. Bank: More Red Flegs ......................................................................................... 82 34. Loumiet Moves to Hunton & Williams; Greenberg Continues to Represent Stanford ................................................................................ 83 I. Loumiet and Hunton Williams Assist Stanford from 2001 to 2009 ..................... 88 1. Hunton Learns of Investigation of Stanford’s Prior Hospital Loan .......................................................................................................... 89 2. Hunton Helps Stanford Leverage the Antiguan Government with More Loans ....................................................................................... 90 3. Hunton Learns Stanford is Evading U.S. Regulation of SIBL .................. 93 4. Hunton Assists Stanford to Quash Political Dissent in Antigua ...................................................................................................... 94 5. The New Antiguan Administration Discovers Stanford Owns Virtually All of Antigua ............................................................................. 98 6. Loumiet’s Personal Relationship with Allen Stanford ............................ 100 7. Hunton Knows Stanford is Still Under Government Investigation ............................................................................................ 107 8. Hunton Shills for Stanford All Over the World ....................................... 107 PLAINTIFFS’ ORIGINAL COMPLAINT -CLASS ACTION PAGE iv Case 3:12-cv-04641-L Document 1 Filed 11/15/12 Page 6 of 172 PageID 6 9. KPMG Refuses Hunton’s Pleas to Audit Stanford Companies ............... 110 10. Hunton Learns Stanford is Violating Mexican Law ............................... 111 11. Greenberg and Hunton Know Stanford is Accused of Violating Ecuadorian Law ...................................................................... 113 12. Hunton Represents Stanford in Ponzi Lawsuit ....................................... 114 13. Hunton Helps Stanford Avoid Increased Regulation of SIBL ................. 114 14. Hunton Assists Stanford to Escape U.S. Taxes ....................................... 116 15. Hunton Assists Stanford to Invest the Stolen Money .............................. 119 16. Hunton Assists Stanford With Its U.S. Sales Operations ........................ 126 17. Hunton Helps Stanford Keep Florida Regulators at Bay ....................... 129 18. The Federal Reserve Board Launches its own Investigation of SFIS ......................................................................................................... 134 19. The Beginning of the End: Suarez Resigns ...........................................