Davis, whose relationship with Stanford traces back to when they were Baylor University roommates, pleaded guilty to fraud- related charges in 2009 and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. He testified against Stanford for five days.
"The key witness in their case has got to be one of the biggest liars you ever heard about or read about," Scardino said of Davis. He told the jury that to believe the government's case against Stanford, "you have to believe Davis."
Echoed Comments
Scardino echoed Fazel's theme that investors weren't deceived and had been told they were taking a risk.
"It's the bank's money, they can invest it however they wish," Scardino said. "It just wasn't the depositors' business to know how it was invested."
The defense asked jurors not to be distracted by prosecutors' repeated references to the financier's yachts, private jets and "domineering" personality.
"Sure, he's a big rich guy, sometimes hard to like, sometimes hard to get along with," Scardino said. "But there's no law against that."
Prosecutors asked jurors to focus on the evidence and not on Stanford's "lottery ticket defenses" that his dreams of developing an island resort for billionaires or promoting cricket as a global spectator sport would somehow "work out" to recoup his investments.
"Don't let him pull one last great con job," Costa urged jurors. "Hold him accountable for the lies he's told for 20 years."
The criminal case is U.S. v. Stanford, 09-cr-00342, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).