WASHINGTON (AP) — Hey, did my congressman really say that? Is that really President Donald Trump on that video, or am I being duped?

New technology on the internet lets anyone make videos of real people appearing to say things they've never said. Republicans and Democrats predict this high-tech way of putting words in someone's mouth will become the latest weapon in disinformation wars against the United States and other Western democracies.

2. Memphis Site of One of Golf’s Greatest Events - Friday, April 13, 2018

The hugs, the handshakes, the slaps on the back, the big smiles and loud, lengthy applause. All things normally saved in the golf world for that moment when a 75-foot eagle putt settles in the bottom of the hole.

3. SpaceX: Rocket for Moon, Mars and NY-to-Shanghai in 39 Minutes - Monday, October 2, 2017

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – SpaceX chief Elon Musk's elaborate plan for a mega-rocket to carry astronauts to Mars may have some down-to-Earth applications.

At a conference in Australia on Friday, Musk said if you build a ship capable of going to the moon and Mars, why not use it for high-speed transport here at home. He proposes using his still-in-the-design phase rocket for launching passengers from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes flat.

4. For St. Jude and Golf Fans, FedEx St. Jude Classic is Thriving - Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Perspective can be too easy of a word. It can get thrown around casually, especially in big-time sports settings. But at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, “perspective” isn’t just a clichéd line for a moment in time.

5. Fowler Named Chairman Of Rhodes’ Board of Trustees - Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Scientist Cary Fowler is the new chairman of Rhodes College’s board of trustees, the liberal arts college announced Tuesday, April 11. He will succeed William J. Michaelcheck, who is completing his eight-year tenure as chairman.

6. Travel Ban Throws Research, Academic Exchange Into Turmoil - Wednesday, February 1, 2017

BOSTON (AP) – Universities across the nation say President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries is disrupting vital research projects and academic exchanges in such fields as medicine, public health and engineering, with untold numbers of scholars blocked from entering the U.S.

7. Open and Shut - Saturday, September 24, 2016

The office of the future hacks down cubicle walls in favor of modular furniture that encourages collaboration. As many business sectors, from banking to legal services, move to a tech-first approach, companies are turning away from traditional office configurations to attract the next generation of talent.

8. Videographer to Release Stanford Documentary - Wednesday, October 21, 2015

One night several years ago, while he was watching Alex Gibney’s film, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” Houston-based videographer Dave Henry got an idea.

9. Sammons 'Very Interested' in Wharton's Chief Administrator Job - Friday, March 13, 2015

The Memphis City Council and the chief administrative officer both have offices in City Hall.

But to Jack Sammons, who served on the council for more than 20 years and was Chief Administrative Officer for eight months, there is no contest over which job is better.

10. Facebook, LinkedIn Join to Help Women in Tech - Monday, February 9, 2015

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) – Facebook and LinkedIn want to boost dwindling numbers of women studying engineering and computer science with a collaborative initiative announced Friday that they hope will eventually fill thousands of lucrative Silicon Valley jobs long dominated by men.

11. Vanderbilt Students Find Happiness in Music City - Saturday, August 23, 2014

As the Class of 2018 begins to poke around the Vanderbilt University campus, the newest Commodores will be met with the highest of expectations.

“This class is projected to have the highest academic quality in our history as measured by high school class rank and SAT scores,’’ says Doug Christiansen, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions.

12. Tamp & Tap to Open in East Memphis - Friday, August 8, 2014

One of the newest office buildings in East Memphis has landed a popular local coffee shop and restaurant.

Tamp & Tap responded to repeated overtures from Highwoods Properties Inc. and has leased 2,785 square feet of space on the first floor of the Triad Centre III building on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis.

13. Butler Snow Law Firm Expands to New York - Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Mississippi and Tennessee-based Butler Snow law firm has expanded into the New York market.

The firm has added Stanford G. Ladner in its public finance, tax incentives and credit markets group and David M. Cohen in its product liability, mass tort and environmental group. Both will be based in New York.

14. 2008 Model Predicts Effects of Airline Mergers - Friday, February 3, 2012

Two years ago, a trio of economics professors at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, checked in on a model they built in 2008 to measure and predict the long-term effects of U.S. airline mergers on specific markets, including Memphis.

15. Republicans Aim to Quash New Union Rules - Thursday, December 1, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans are maneuvering to short-circuit an effort by Democrats on the National Labor Relations Board to approve rules that would quicken the pace of union elections.

16. Psychiatrists Say Stanford Not Competent for Trial - Friday, January 7, 2011

HOUSTON (AP) — Two psychiatrists testified Thursday that former Texas billionaire and financier R. Allen Stanford, who is set to go to trial at the end of the month on charges he bilked investors out of $7 billion in a Ponzi scheme, is not mentally competent to go forward with his case.

17. FedEx Returns as PGA Event Sponsor - Friday, December 3, 2010

FedEx is returning as title sponsor of the St. Jude Classic for 2011.

Memphis’ PGA Tour event will be called the FedEx St. Jude Classic. FedEx served as the title sponsor for 21 years, from 1986-2006.

18. Smith & Nephew Rescues Golf Tourney - Wednesday, April 28, 2010

By agreeing to be the presenting sponsor of the 2010 St. Jude Classic, Smith & Nephew came to the rescue of a nonprofit organization that had given away almost all its assets because of a long-term commitment from Stanford Financial to be the golf tournament’s title sponsor.

19. Events - Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Aging Commission of the Mid-South and the Alzheimer’s Association will hold a free education conference for caregivers today from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove Road. The conference is free but space is limited. To register, call 565-0011.

20. AP: Ponzi Collapses Nearly Quadrupled in '09 - Thursday, December 31, 2009

MIAMI (AP) - It was a rough year for Ponzi schemes. In 2009, the recession unraveled nearly four times as many of the investment scams as fell apart in 2008, with "Ponzi" becoming a buzzword again thanks to the collapse of Bernard Madoff's $50 billion plot.

21. Sale of Luminetx Proposed as Company Flounders - Friday, December 4, 2009

Luminetx Corp. is operating in the red and may soon run out of money unless its shareholders agree to sell the company to Christie Digital Systems Inc.

22. Sale of Luminetx Proposed as Company Flounders - Monday, December 7, 2009

Luminetx Corp. is operating in the red and may soon run out of money unless its shareholders agree to sell the company to Christie Digital Systems Inc.

23. IRS Seeks Identities of Investors in Stanford Bank - Thursday, December 3, 2009

DALLAS (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service wants the names of U.S. taxpayers who have foreign accounts with companies owned by indicted billionaire R. Allen Stanford, according to court papers filed Wednesday.

24. Stanford Legal Team Hints at Need for More Time - Monday, October 19, 2009

Lawyers representing R. Allen Stanford, the jailed Texas financier accused of running a massive Ponzi scheme, say they have their work cut out for them.

25. Review: FINRA Needs Reform After Madoff, Stanford - Monday, October 5, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - The brokerage industry's self-policing body must make reforms to protect investors after its inspections failed to uncover the massive Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff and the alleged fraud by R. Allen Stanford, according to a special review.

26. After the Fall: The messy cleanup of Stanford Financial - Monday, September 28, 2009

R. Allen Stanford, the Texas billionaire now passing time in a Texas jail for his role in what U.S. regulators have called a “massive Ponzi scheme,” once told a roomful of his employees they ought to have three priorities in life.

27. Rice Sounds Off on Protectionism, Quality of US Education - Monday, September 21, 2009

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the first speaker in the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Global Leadership Series.

Since leaving the White House earlier this year, Rice has been a political science professor at Stanford University and a senior fellow on public policy at the school’s Hoover Institution.

28. Fed's Steps to Aid Banking System Raise Risks, Too - Tuesday, September 15, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve's bold steps to prevent the banking industry from collapsing last year have injected new dangers into the financial system.

Analysts and government officials fear that the nation's biggest banks will be emboldened to resume excessive risk-taking on the belief that the Fed will be there – again – to prevent them from collapsing.

29. Opposition To Stanford Receiver’s Fee Request Mounts - Monday, September 7, 2009

This story is just one of hundreds of news stories and blog entries that have been written almost daily about the Stanford Financial Group investment scandal.

A public relations firm eventually will gather all of the Stanford media reports on behalf of the court-appointed receiver who’s in charge of what’s left of Stanford’s international business network. Those media reports will be printed, assembled and bound into a hard copy collection.

30. Plea Deal Reveals New Details About Swindle Case - Monday, August 31, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) – The former finance chief for jailed Texas financier R. Allen Stanford said his boss created a business empire where blood oaths were taken to secure loyalty, bribes were paid from a secret Swiss bank account and investor profits were more fiction than financial genius.

31. Accused Financier Stanford Hospitalized - Friday, August 28, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) – Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, jailed on charges of bilking investors out of $7 billion, has been hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat and high pulse, the judge in his case said Thursday.

32. Attorney Says Stanford CFO Makes Plea Deal - Thursday, July 2, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) - The former chief financial officer of indicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford's business empire will plead guilty to charges alleging he helped swindle investors out of $7 billion, his attorney said Wednesday.

33. Judge to Decide Tuesday on Stanford's Bond - Tuesday, June 30, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) - A federal judge says he will decide by Tuesday afternoon on whether to revoke a bond for Texas financier R. Allen Stanford that would let him be free while he awaits trial on charges he swindled investors out of $7 billion.

34. Billionaire Stanford Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud - Friday, June 26, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) – Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he swindled investors out of $7 billion as part of a massive investment scam.

Stanford entered his plea during his arraignment in federal court. Authorities have alleged that Stanford used his international banking empire as a pyramid scheme, which typically operates by paying off earlier investors with money collected from later investors.

35. Stanford Receiver Details Finding - Monday, April 27, 2009

The court-appointed receiver who’s been working to untangle the complicated financial web of the Stanford Financial group of companies last week gave a detailed look into what he’s done so far and why.

36. Stanford Receiver Details Findings - Friday, April 24, 2009
The court-appointed receiver who’s been working to untangle the complicated financial web of the Stanford Financial group of companies last week gave a detailed look into what he’s done so far and why.

The status report Dallas attorney Ralph Janvey filed in the Texas court where a sprawling federal case is unfolding against Stanford provides new details about the motivations, goals and progress of Janvey’s efforts. Janvey was appointed as Stanford’s receiver in February shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit claiming the Stanford business empire was built on secrets, deception and a multibillion-dollar investment fraud.

Fighting back

Details of Janvey’s efforts come at the same time Stanford’s Chairman Allen Stanford, a billionaire Texan with a towering physique and a penchant for the game of cricket, has begun to raise his media profile. In an interview he gave to The New York Times, Stanford told the paper he can’t use any of the credit cards in his wallet, his bank accounts are frozen and he’s been locked out of his apartment on the island of St. Croix.

Far from pulling his punches in light of a looming criminal indictment, Stanford in the interview also blasted the SEC for “squandering” the assets of the assorted Stanford companies. He also called Janvey a “jerk” whose aides “can’t find their rear end from a hole in the ground,” according to The Times.

Stanford filed a sharply worded memorandum this month in the Texas court answering some of the charges against him. He said the Stanford receiver has seized all of his money, important records, most of his clothing and personal possessions.

The Stanford companies “provided service to thousands of valued clients,” his memo reads. “They employed thousands of honest, hard-working people. Stanford’s companies were real companies with real assets, real profits and real employees serving real clients.”

CD dealing

Meanwhile, Janvey’s report last week attempts to shed light on some of the things he has found.

He writes, for example, that Stanford’s operation consisted of more than 100 companies spread across the globe, with locations spanning 15 U.S. states and 13 countries in Europe, the Caribbean, Canada and Latin America.

Partly based on the work of a forensic accountant, the Stanford receiver believes the purpose of the combined Stanford operation was simple: bring in outside money through the sale of CDs issued by Stanford’s offshore bank. And to do that, brokers were paid handsomely through a compensation structure that made the whole enterprise unsustainable without the money generated from CD sales, according to the receiver.

“To the outside world … these financial businesses appeared to be independently viable,” reads the receiver’s status report. “The receiver believes, however, based on his investigation to date, that the principle purpose and focus of most of the combined operations was to attract and funnel outside investor funds into the Stanford companies through the sale of the CDs issued by Stanford’s offshore entity (Stanford International Bank).

“Once CD funds entered the Stanford companies, they were dispersed to Allen Stanford or to other Stanford-owned entities or used to purchase private equity and other investments, to pay CD redemptions and interest or to pay expenses and obligations.”

Following the trail

The receiver appears to believe Stanford’s far-flung operation – which included a now-shuttered Memphis office – arguably owed its continued existence to money brought into the organization via the CD sales. The Stanford empire had a strong Memphis connection, with an investment brokerage office here as well as offices at one time for both Stanford’s chief financial officer James Davis and chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, both of whom were named in the SEC complaint.

As of Feb. 22, the receiver’s data show about $7.2 billion worth of CDs were outstanding and in the hands of approximately 21,500 holders around the world. But much of the cash received from CD sales apparently cannot be found.

The receiver also has asked the accounting firm of Ernst & Young to compile balance sheets for Stanford’s companies because the receiver states almost all non-cash assets listed on Stanford’s Dec. 31 balance sheets are substantially overstated.

“Preliminary analysis of Stanford’s available financial records indicates that a very substantial amount of cash received upon sale of (the bank’s) CDs over the last few years … cannot be accounted for,” the receiver’s report reads. “Some of this cash may have been spent in ways that are not reflected in any of the available financial records … such as cash that may have been loaned to Allen Stanford or distributed to him as sole shareholder and then spent on personal consumption by him.

“This preliminary analysis suggests that the aggregate amount of such unaccounted-for cash may be in the range of $1 billion.”

37. Pendergest-Holt Sues Former Stanford Atty. - Thursday, April 2, 2009

Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, has filed a lawsuit against Stanford’s former attorney and his firm that claims they “hung her out to dry” and seeks damages of more than $20 million.

38. Holt Sues Attorney In Stanford Financial Fallout - Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, has filed a lawsuit against Stanford’s former attorney and his firm that claims they “hung her out to dry” and which seeks damages of more than $20 million.

39. Miami Meetings at Center of Stanford Woes - Monday, March 16, 2009

Thomas Sjoblom, an attorney at the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, walked into the office of a female Stanford Financial Group executive in Miami after a tense series of private meetings earlier on a February day with Stanford’s top brass.

40. Judge ‘Unfreezes’ Some Stanford Accounts - Monday, March 9, 2009

A federal judge issued an order Thursday lifting a freeze on about 12,000 investor accounts with Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford that were valued at $250,000 or less as of Feb. 28, at the request of the court-appointed receiver in the Stanford case.

41. Mexican Citizens Seek Claim Against Stanford Financial - Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Two Mexican citizens have asked the Texas federal court where a civil case brought against the Stanford Financial Group family of companies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is unfolding for permission to pursue their own claims against Stanford in another venue.

42. Red Flags Abounded During SEC Probe Of Stanford Cos. - Tuesday, February 24, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) – As with the Bernard Madoff case, the scandal surrounding billionaire R. Allen Stanford now seems clear and obvious in hindsight. Yet Stanford managed to run his alleged scheme even while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators investigated his businesses.

43. Scope of Stanford Scandal Vast, Deep - Tuesday, February 24, 2009

When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in federal court last week accusing Stanford Financial Group of defrauding billions from investors, the case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay.

44. Stanford Attorney Quits Following CIO’s Testimony - Monday, February 23, 2009
Facing five representatives of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement, the chief investment officer of the Stanford Financial Group family of companies – a woman with close ties to Memphis – raised her right hand.

It was a little after 1 p.m. Tuesday Feb. 10, in the SEC’s office in Fort Worth, Texas. After being put under oath, SEC branch chief Michael King asked Stanford’s chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt to spell her name for the record.

Exactly one week later – the following Tuesday – the SEC raided Stanford offices in multiple cities, including the company’s plush East Memphis digs in The Crescent Center. The agency charged Pendergest-Holt, along with chief financial officer James Davis and Chairman R. Allen Stanford with “a fraud of shocking magnitude” that involved defrauding and luring investors with inflated claims about the company’s products including its certificates of deposit.

Eyes on Texas

The timing of the SEC’s movement against Stanford is related to what happened in that Fort Worth office Feb. 10 – possibly in more ways than one.

For almost four hours, the SEC officials quizzed Pendergest-Holt, who in 2006 was named to the Memphis Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40, a ranking that honors the area’s local business leaders. In the room with her was Thomas Sjoblom, an attorney with the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP who represented the Stanford company.

Whether the testimony he heard Pendergest-Holt give that day influenced an action he took the next day is unclear. But with little explanation, Sjoblom officially quit representing Stanford Financial’s affiliated companies the day after Pendergest-Holt’s testimony, according to court records the SEC filed last week along with its complaint against Stanford.

Before entering private practice, Sjoblom had worked for the SEC for 20 years. From 1987 to 1999, he was an assistant chief litigation counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement – the same division of the agency whose representatives were peppering Pendergest-Holt with questions Feb. 10.

After she was put under oath, Sjoblom immediately got down to business.

Pre-empting the SEC officials, according to a transcript of the day’s testimony, he asked: “First of all, has there been a criminal referral in this matter?”

King told him that he and his client had been provided with an SEC Form 1662. Among other things, that form reads, “The commission often makes its files available to other governmental agencies, particularly United States Attorneys and state prosecutors. There is a likelihood that information supplied by you will be made available to such agencies where appropriate.”

At press time, criminal charges had not yet been filed against the three executives who were the subject of SEC civil charges last week.

Sjoblom followed that up with another question about whether the SEC is currently working with the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Texas or elsewhere.

“Mr. Sjoblom, I just referred you to SEC Form 1662,” King replied.

Objections

Sjoblom pressed on. Before Pendergest-Holt began her testimony, he brought up a question of whether the SEC had authority to probe matters related to Stanford’s banking arm, which operates on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

The SEC complaint alleges that most of the bank’s investment portfolio was purportedly monitored from Memphis.

“OK,” Sjoblom said. “Next, before you start asking questions ... there’s certainly an issue here whether or not the certificates of deposit are securities. So I have an objection to the purported jurisdiction of the SEC over this instrument.

“Secondly, it’s my view that the bank is located – that’s Stanford International Bank – is located outside the jurisdiction of the United States and there is no jurisdiction by the SEC over that bank and its product lines and, hence, over the information that, I’m sure, you’re going to seek to elicit today.”

Nevertheless, the testimony proceeded. The line of questioning from the SEC officials focused on filling in both personal and professional details about Pendergest-Holt.

They learned, for example, that she was about 23 years old when she joined Stanford in June 1997. They also learned enough to allege in their complaint that she trained employees below her to mislead investors.

The SEC’s complaint says Pendergest-Holt supervised “a group of analysts in Memphis, Tupelo and St. Croix, (U.S. Virgin Islands).”

Cutting ties

The Stanford lawyer in the room while Pendergest-Holt gave her testimony, however, soon removed himself from the picture. He gave notice to the SEC Feb. 11, the day after her testimony, that his firm was no longer Stanford’s counsel.

He followed that up with a Feb. 12 fax to Kevin Edmundson, the assistant regional director in the SEC’s Forth Worth office, and left a voice mail message for him the next evening.

Finally, Sjoblom typed a note on his BlackBerry to Edmundson a little after 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. It read: “Kevin, this will advise the SEC, and confirm my voice message last evening, that I disaffirm all prior oral and written representations made by me and my associates ... to the SEC staff regarding Stanford Financial Group and its affiliates.”

Three days later, the SEC swung into action, charging the Stanford officials with what Rose Romero, regional director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, called a “fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.”

45. Stanford Bank’s Investors Go Home Empty-Handed - Friday, February 20, 2009

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (AP) – Venezuela on Thursday seized a failed bank controlled by Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford after a run on deposits there, while clients were prevented from withdrawing their money from Stanford International Bank and its affiliates in a half-dozen other countries.

46. Stanford Deployed Web of Lies, Documents Show - Friday, February 20, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) – Disgraced banker R. Allen Stanford’s pitch to investors was equal parts glamour and flattery.

47. Details Emerge in Stanford Fraud Case - Thursday, February 19, 2009

Word of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by a New York businessman was still a hot topic in the investment community when a note to depositors appeared on Stanford International Bank’s Web site.

48. STANFORD SHOCKER - Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Texas billionaire whose family of companies has deep ties to Memphis with an $8 billion securities fraud.

Asking for “emergency relief to halt a massive, ongoing fraud,” a complaint issued by the SEC Tuesday alleges the businessman, R. Allen Stanford – chairman of the Stanford Financial Group of companies – schemed to sell about $8 billion worth of certificates of deposit that promise higher returns than would have been available with genuine CDs offered by traditional banks.

49. Stanford Financial Chairman Charged With $8B Fraud - Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Texas billionaire whose family of companies has deep ties to Memphis with an $8 billion securities fraud.

Asking for "emergency relief to halt a massive, ongoing fraud," a complaint issued by the SEC Tuesday alleges the businessman, R. Allen Stanford – chairman of the Stanford Financial Group of companies – schemed to sell about $8 billion worth of certificates of deposit that promise higher returns than would have been available with genuine CDs offered by traditional banks.

Also named in the Texas complaint are James Davis, the chief financial officer of Stanford Financial Group Inc. who works in East Memphis’ Crescent Center, as well as Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group. She supervises a group of analysts in Memphis, among other places, according to the SEC.

"Stanford and Davis have wholly failed to cooperate with the commission's efforts to account for the $8 billion of investor funds purportedly held by SIB (Stanford International Bank, the banking unit of the family of companies)," the SEC's complaint reads. "In short, approximately 90 percent of SIB's claimed investment portfolio resides in a 'black box' shielded from any independent oversight."

The particulars

Stanford's banking unit claims $8.5 billion in assets, and its brokerage unit reportedly has about $50 billion in assets. The SEC alleges the bulk of the banking unit’s investment portfolio was monitored by two people – Stanford and Davis.

The company and its executives cast a long shadow in Memphis, as does the sprawling complaint unveiled this week.

Law enforcement personnel Tuesday entered Stanford offices in the U.S. in more than one city, including Memphis. Memphis FBI officials could not be reached Tuesday afternoon, but were believed to be seizing records there.

The day before the SEC’s allegations were unveiled, a Stanford Financial Group spokesman told The Daily News the company was cooperating with investigators.

“Both FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and the SEC have stated to us that their recent visits to our offices were part of a routine examination,” said Brian Bertsch. “We have provided U.S. regulators with the information requested and intend to comply fully with any findings or recommendations they may issue.”

Bertsch would not confirm if the company’s Memphis office was one of six locations visited in January by the SEC and FINRA.

Far-reaching operation

More than three dozen police officers and other law enforcement officials entered two Stanford Group office buildings in Houston Tuesday morning, according to The New York Times.

Several key aspects of the case, meanwhile, point to activities of the company that unfolded in Memphis or are related to the Bluff City.

"SIB's multi-billion (dollar) portfolio of investments is purportedly monitored by SFG's chief financial officer in Memphis, Tenn.," according to the SEC. That executive, James Davis, refused to appear and give testimony in the SEC investigation.

Meanwhile, “The bank's (senior investment officer) was trained by Ms. Pendergest-Holt to tell investors that the bank's multi-billion (dollar) portfolio was ‘monitored’ by the analyst team in Memphis,” the SEC’s complaint reads. “In communicating with investors, the SIO followed Pendergest's instructions, misrepresenting that a team of 20-plus analysts monitored the bank’s investment portfolio. In so doing, the SIO never disclosed to investors that the analysts only monitor approximately 10 percent of SIB's money.

“In fact, Pendergest-Holt trained the SIO ‘not to divulge too much’ about oversight of the bank's portfolio because that information ‘wouldn’t leave an investor with a lot of confidence.’”

One spark that may have added fuel to the fire concerns allegations from former Stanford employees.

D. Mark Tidwell and Charles Rawl last year filed a wrongful termination suit in state court in Texas alleging “various unethical and illegal business practices, including overstating the asset value of individuals in a manner designed to mislead potential investors and purging electronic data from computers in response to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission,” according to a court filing in the Texas case. “According to Tidwell and Rawl, they left the company after realizing that they could possibly be implicated in the alleged illegal acts.”

Wellspring of support

The charges cast a dark cloud over a company that has been a generous benefactor of several causes in Memphis.

In the most recent edition of the Stanford Eagle, the in-house magazine of Stanford Financial Group, Stanford is shown seated among a quartet of children who all appear to be patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. All of them are smiling, and one is sitting on the businessman’s knee, cradled in his arm.

St. Jude is among the many local causes supported by Stanford's business interests. The annual Stanford St. Jude Championship alone has raised more than $19 million for the hospital since 1970. Stanford signed on as the major sponsor in 2007 after FedEx shifted its involvement.

The Houston-based financial services company, which operates an investment brokerage office in Memphis, provides financial support to the hospital as its “corporate charity of choice,” according to the magazine.

In the most recent edition of the magazine, Tony Thomas, the son of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas, said Stanford’s chairman “has been a blessing for us and for the children and patients of St. Jude. … His support has resulted in $15 million in the last three years.”

Among the Memphis causes it supports, the Houston company is a corporate sponsor of the National Civil Rights Museum and a contributor to the Greater Memphis Arts Council, the Boys and Girls Club of Memphis and the Ave Maria Foundation of Memphis, according to a report from Stanford about its community investments. Stanford’s charitable foundation also is based in Memphis.

A reception several years ago to celebrate the company’s growth in Memphis was held at the home of local fashion designer Pat Kerr Tigrett, with guests including Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith, according to news accounts of the event.

50. April House Combines Fun With Food - Monday, December 29, 2008

Foreclosure can be a new beginning if you persevere.

Paulette Sanford navigated April House Premiere, her catering and special events business, through financial hard times that sometimes left her scrounging for a place to operate from 1999 to 2001.

51. Simpson Joins FirstBank As Local President - Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ted Simpson has been hired by FirstBank as its Memphis city president.

Simpson previously served as executive vice president and chief lending officer for Magna Bank and has experience with National Bank of Commerce and Central Park Capital. He also is currently on the board of Lambda Alpha, a real estate professional organization.

52. Stanford Financial, Chairman Receive ALSAC/St. Jude Award - Monday, June 30, 2008

ALSAC, the fundraising organization behind St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has presented Stanford Financial Group and its chairman, Sir Allen Stanford, each with high honors for their contributions to the hospital and ALSAC.

53. Dave Robbins Receives Highest Recognition In Restoration Industry - Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Dave Robbins of Crawford, Smith & Sharp LLC recently was awarded the Certified Restorer (CR) designation from the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration. The CR designation is the highest recognition awarded in the restoration industry. Since its inception in 1976, only 485 individuals have earned the designation.

54. Impact Felt - Thursday, February 8, 2007

"I used to be the next president of the United States," former Vice President Al Gore told an audience of 1,400 at Stanford University in 2005, inspiring laughter from the crowd that consisted mostly of Master of Business Administration (MBA) students from around the country. "I used to fly on Air Force Two for eight years. Now I have to take off my shoes to get on an airplane."

55. Future Home of PGA Tour Stop? - Wednesday, June 14, 2006

The Vesta Home Show definitely is coming to Collierville's Spring Creek Ranch in 2007, but whether the Stanford St. Jude Championship, formerly known as the FedEx St. Jude Classic, will call the development's golf course home is another matter altogether.

56. Archived Article: Office (lead) - Thursday, August 28, 2003
Memphis office market in a flat funk

Memphis office market sees little improvement

By LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

Stale thats one word being used to describe the current Memphis office market. Another is flat the word commercial real esta...

57. Archived Article: Calendar - Monday, October 14, 2002
Calendar of events Oct

Calendar of events Oct. 14-Oct. 20

Oct. 14

The Jewish Community Center Theatre, 6560 Poplar Ave., hosts a lottery referendum debate at 7 p.m. Speaking for the lottery referendum is state Sen. Steve Cohen, Student Scho...

58. Archived Article: Comm Briefs - Friday, October 11, 2002
Dance Works Inc

Lichterman Nature Centers 15th annual fall plant sale is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. For information about available plants, call 767-7322, Ext. 107. The Memphis Music Expo is 10 a.m. ...

59. Archived Article: Resortquest P - Thursday, February 21, 2002
ResortQuest expands presence in Hawaii ResortQuest expands presence in Hawaii ResortQuest International has expanded its presence in Hawaii with the addition of two new management contracts for its subsidiary, Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii. Asto...

60. Archived Article: Tech Focus (tele) - Wednesday, November 8, 2000
By SUZANNE THOMPSON Telemedicine links rural patients with city docs By SUZANNE THOMPSON The Daily News Those living in a metropolitan area with a number of major medical centers may find it hard to imagine that some counties in Tennessee have no pe...

61. Archived Article: Memos - Wednesday, July 3, 1996
Boatmens Bank of Tennessee recently announced the election or promotion of several officers: Boatmens Bank of Tennessee recently announced the election or promotion of several officers: Robert was elected vice president and manager of the Raleigh br...