FBI agents have arrested the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, accusing Laura Pendergest-Holt of obstructing an SEC fraud investigation. The SEC has been investigating allegations of an $8 billion investment fraud involving Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford's financial group. Pendergest-Holt, arrested in Houston, will appear in court tomorrow. These are the first criminal charges in the case—the SEC has charged Stanford himself with only civil charges so far.
(More Robert Allen Stanford stories.)