[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Allen Stanford, the Texas financier convicted of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme through an Antigua-based bank, didn't get the 230-year sentence that U.S. prosecutors recommended.  Instead, he was sentenced on Thursday to 110 years in jail by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston.  Before the sentence was announced, Stanford told the court, amid tears and shuffling papers, "I’m not up here to ask for sympathy or forgiveness.  I’m up here to tell you from my heart, I didn’t run a Ponzi scheme." Passing Blame. Rather than accepting responsibility for victimizing 30,000 investors from 113 countries, Stanford blamed the government for the collapse of his businesses.  He contended that "we could have paid off every depositor and still have substantial assets remaining." He was not well received and federal prosecutor William Stellmach called Stanford’s version of events "obscene."  He then added:

"This is a man utterly without remorse.  From beginning to end, he treated all of his victims as roadkill.  He went after the middle class, including people who didn’t have money to lose.  People have lost their homes.  They have come out of retirement."

Conviction: A Long Time Coming. Back in March 2012, a federal jury convicted Stanford of 13 of 14 counts of fraud related to his Ponzi scheme that spanned more than 2 decades.  Throughout that period, Stanford's bank - Stanford International Bank - issued fraudulent high-interest certificates of deposit. Three years after his arrest brought to an end a life that featured a fortune of over $2 billion, a knighthood by the country of Antigua, and a collection of yachts and jets, Stanford now will spend his remaining years behind bars. The case: U.S. v. Stanford, 09cr342, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston). For further details, go to [NY Times, 6/14/12].