HOUSTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Attorneys of indicted U.S. financier Allen Stanford on Monday asked a U.S. appeals court to release their client on bond because he needs time to prepare for his defense.
Stanford's lawyers on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans to overturn a decision made last month by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston that revoked the 59-year-old Texan financier's 500,000-U.S. dollar bond.
Hittner made the no bond decision on grounds that the once highflying financier's international contacts and presumed access to vast wealth hidden around the world made him a "serious flight risk."
In a 46-page appeal filed Monday, Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's criminal defense attorney, said Hittner's decision was based on "a series of misleading and inaccurate statements of fact" from prosecutors. "As a result, a 59-year-old man accused primarily of financial crimes sits in jail and cannot effectively meet with his lawyers or otherwise prepare for his defense."
Stanford, accused of swindling investors of as much as 7 billion U.S. dollars, was initially granted bail by a magistrate judge, but district judge Hittner revoked the bond after prosecutors argued that Stanford is a serious flight risk.
Stanford has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 18. He was indicted, along with his three associates and a top Caribbean regulator, on charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Stanford could face life in prison if convicted.
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