The court-appointed receiver who is rounding up assets in the Allen Stanford investment scandal is demanding that politicians and their parties return $1.8 million in campaign contributions they got from Stanford and his employees.
AP
Allen Stanford
Stanford was a generous contributor to both parties, and those contributions are reportedly under investigation by prosecutors.
Receiver Ralph Janvey says politicians had returned only $87,800 in contributions as of January 31. Janvey says another $1.8 million rightfully belongs to Stanford's investors.
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The largest amount not yet returned is $950,000 donated by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Janvey is also seeking the return of $25,000 from the Rangel Victory Fund, a political action committee founded by New York Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel.
The largest contributions to an individual campaign went to Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, a longtime friend of Stanford. Janvey is seeking the return of $10,000 in contributions Sessions received from Stanford and his companies, as well as co-defendant Laura Pendergest-Holt and former Chief Financial Officer James Davis, who has pleaded guilty in the case.
A spokesperson for Sessions told CNBC this week that like other politicians--including President Obama and Senator John McCain--the Congressman was fooled by Stanford. But now, Sessions wants Stanford "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The spokesperson says Sessions has donated $5,000 to charity, representing the amount he received from Stanford, Davis and Pendergest-Holt. Sessions received more than $44,000 in donations from Stanford and his employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The spokesperson would not say whether Sessions plans to return Stanford's donations.
