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Scamfluencers

Allen Stanford: The Lord of the Lies | 113

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.17K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After a Texas oil bust forces him into bankruptcy, Allen Stanford looked abroad for a new opportunity: starting an off-shore bank in Antigua and using client money as his own personal piggybank. Soon, he’s spending billions on private planes, his own cricket grounds and estates all over the world. To keep his scheme going, he bullies his coworkers, makes blood oaths with regulators, and threatens to punch reporters in the mouth. But when the global financial crisis hits in 2008, Allen’s bravado is met with cold hard reality.


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, scam influencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are, you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams. Add free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details. Don't just listen. Immerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus.

0:32.0

Sachi, we talk about offshore banking a lot on this show, but do you actually know what it is?

0:33.1

Not really.

0:39.3

I mean, it's just having a bank account off ashore, right?

0:40.4

Yeah, you know what?

0:45.8

It is one of those things where when people say it, you don't actually understand what they're doing with their money.

0:46.8

It's like diversifying your assets or paying your taxes.

0:51.7

But if the people using the offshore bank are criminals,

0:55.2

what do you think that says about the guy who founded the bank in the first place?

1:02.0

It's 2008, and Jonathan Agnew is at Lord's Cricket Grounds in London.

1:07.4

It's one of the most famous cricket stadiums in the world.

1:10.9

Jonathan is in his late 40s.

1:12.9

He's bald and he wears thin oval glasses.

1:16.4

Jonathan has covered cricket for the BBC for the last 17 years,

1:20.6

but today he's witnessing something he's never seen before.

1:24.9

A black helicopter with gold trim is landing on the grounds.

1:29.0

Lord's Cricket Grounds is a centuries old, members-only establishment with a dress

1:33.3

code and very particular rules.

1:36.4

Non-members can't even walk on the grass, much less land a helicopter on it.

1:40.9

Jonathan is completely scandalized.

1:44.0

The man who steps out of the chopper is a tall,

1:46.6

tanned Texan who is definitely not a member. His name is Sir Alan Stanford, and he's made

...

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