Caracas, Venezuela, April 21, 2010. Latin-American victims of the pyramidal fraud perpetrated by R. Allen Stanford, represented by the Coalición Víctimas de Stanford América Latina, denounces Alan M. Dershowitz, professor of the Harvard School of Law, for accepting a role in the defense team of R. Allen Stanford with the only purpose of fighting against his incarceration.
In an article published in The Harvard Crimson, written by E. Benjamin Samuels and dated April 15, 2010, titled “Dershowitz Takes Ponzi Scheme Case”; the law professor Alan M. Deshowitz declared that he has agreed to serve on the defense team of R. Allen Stanford who is facing 21 criminal charges in the perpetration of a Ponzi scheme.
“It is unacceptable and outrageous that a professor of law from Harvard University’s School of Law is more concerned for the incarceration of the heartless R. Allen Stanford than for the suffering of thousands of victims, that without their savings, were left in misery”, commented Jaime R. Escalona, Leader of the Coalición Víctimas de Stanford América Latina.
According to the professor Alan M. Dershowitz: “The Constitution provides for bail, and he has been denied bail…in a manner that doesn’t permit him to prepare his defense.”
“I believe every person is innocent until proven guilty and an accused person is entitled to a vigorous defense,” declared J. Lorand Matory, a former professor at Harvard and chair of the African and African American Studies department at Duke University.
“With the respect and consideration that sadly these professors do not have for the Stanford’s victims, we invite them to be informed in order to overcome their evident ignorance about the magnitude of our tragedy”, affirmed Escalona.
“To help them to better understand the truth of the situation, we would like to inform them that the majority of the Latin American victims are elderly and/or ill and close to retirement”, stated Escalona. “These are citizens of countries lacking a social security system that would guarantee a dignified retirement, that invested all of their savings in certificates of deposit (CDs) issued by Stanford International Bank Limited (Antigua), looking to preserve their patrimony from devaluations, high inflation and the arbitrary decisions from their governments; because of an innocent “little angel” called Sir R. Allen Stanford that now claims justice behind bars, today these victims find themselves together with their desperate family members, in a most desperate state of poverty”.
For this the Coalición Víctimas de Stanford América Latina asks: “Is it just that a crime of this magnitude should be alleviated with the payment of bail? If the money exists for bail, why not distribute it among so many elderly victims that do no longer have the means to address their medical emergencies? If the “little angel” is so innocent like they claim, where are the $7.2 billion dollars from the 27.992 victims from 113 countries?”
Escalona concludes saying: “I urge professors Dershowitz and Lorand Matory, with their prestige, legal knowledge and the support from their universities, Harvard and Duke; use your resources for good and help us to pressure the US Government for the restitution of our patrimony that was robbed because of the negligence, incompetence and complicity of its regulatory agencies and by the compromising silence by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), that allowed that R. Allen Stanford to perpetrate this massive fraud for more than a decade”.
Contact:
Jaime R. Escalona
Leader Coalición Victimas de Stanford
América Latina
E-mail: jaenrodes@gmail.com
victimasdestanford@gmail.com
Tel: (512) 377-9255