Lawyers for Lopez and Kuhrt urged jurors to acquit the men, claiming they were duped by Stanford and finance chief James M. Davis into creating the false financial statements investors relied on in buying the bogus CDs.
Bank's Assets
Stanford told CD buyers their money was invested in conservative liquid assets and overseen by international money managers. Evidence at his jury trial showed that Stanford and Davis secretly controlled more than 80 percent of the bank's investments, much of which was loaned to Stanford or used to underwrite his other businesses. Jurors heard Lopez, Kuhrt and Davis testify during the five-week trial. Davis pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in 2009, testified against Stanford at his trial and is awaiting sentencing.
The defense attorneys told jurors the accountants relied on investment returns provided by Stanford and Davis and never intended to falsify company records or break any laws. The accountants also lobbied Davis to publicly disclose Stanford's borrowings to investors and were overruled, they said.
"There's no doubt whatsoever there was a massive fraud going on, but it was a Stanford and Davis fraud, not a Lopez and Kuhrt fraud," Richard Kuniansky, Kuhrt's lawyer, told jurors in closing arguments Nov. 14.
The case is U.S. v Lopez, 4:09-cr-0342, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).