Chief investment officer is accused of obstructing justice

The chief investment officer of Houston based Stanford Financial Group (SFG) has been arrested for obstructing Federal authorities in their investigation of the alleged $8bn fraud scandal.

Laura Pendergest-Holt, who was subpoenaed by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators, allegedly made several misrepresentations in order to obstruct the inquiry.

According to the authorities Pendergest-Holt had a meeting with Stanford directors before being subpoenaed by the SEC and then lied about ever having the meeting. She also allegedly obstructed the investigation by denying knowledge of certain financial arrangements within Stanford.