On Tuesday the SEC alleged that Stanford Financial defrauded clients out of as much as $8 billion by selling certificates of deposit that were incapable of delivering the high returns they promised. The agency also said Stanford Financial sold mutual funds based on false historical performance figures.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's campaign fund moved yesterday to distance him from the burgeoning scandal, donating the value of Stanford's $4,600 campaign contribution to a Chicago charity.
Obama was on a long list of Washington politicians and political committees that took money from Stanford. Other recipients, including Sen. John McCain, also promised yesterday to return the funds or donate them to charity. Stanford was a fixture in the Washington political establishment and a generous contributor to Democrats and to key Republicans as well.
