Stanford Accounts to Remain Frozen

A federal judge ruled today that thousands of investor accounts with R. Allen Stanford's financial companies will remain frozen for another 10 days, while a court-appointed receiver said he's developing a plan to return some of the money to its owners. Stanford's companies have been in receivership since the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action alleging an $8 billion investment fraud.

Texas lawyer Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver authorized to freeze the assets of the billionaire and his main companies, said the Stanford companies have a “liquidity problem and tens of millions in unpaid bills.” Janvey said he will file a plan by March 16 to start releasing accounts of less than $100,000 to their owners. He said he has already released some mutual-fund accounts.