Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire facing civil fraud charges, attempted to turn himself in at the federal courthouse in Houston on Thursday, but was turned away because there is no warrant for his arrest, his lawyer said.
AP
"There are all these rumors flying around about an indictment coming soon," said Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's criminal attorney. "We want the authorities to to know that Allen Stanford is going to stand and fight, he's not going to run."
Stanford and DeGuerin went to the federal courthouse Thursday afternoon, but the U.S. Marshals would not take Stanford into custody, the lawyer said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in Houston confirms Stanford did show up at the federal courthouse to turn himself in. But because the Marshals had no warrant for his arrest--and no knowledge of one--Stanford was turned away.
Stanford, who does not face criminal charges, but has said he expects to be indicted, will try to turn himself in again next week, DeGuerin said. "I said to the marshals, if you get a warrant, give me a call," DeGuerin said.
Stanford told CNBC last week he expects to be indicted, but promised to fight. He surrendered his passport to authorities in February, days after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged him with civil fraud for allegedly running a massive international Ponzi scheme involving high-yielding certificates of deposit from his bank in Antigua.
A Justice Department spokesman declines to comment on Allen Stanford's attempt to surrender today.
One legal source close to the case theorizes Stanford's move is a ploy by Stanford and his attorney to keep him free on bail after he is charged --s ince he has shown he is not a flight risk. If that's the case, the source says, attorney Dick DeGuerin is truly "thinking outside the box."
Stanford, two other executives and three of his companies are accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of an $8 billion fraud involving high-yield certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank in Antigua.
Stanford, a colorful financier and sports patron who owns luxury homes in the Caribbean and Florida, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that he has done nothing wrong.
-- Reuters contributed to this article