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The former chief financial officer of Stanford Financial Group and Stanford International Bank received his sentence in a Houston courtroom this morning.
Davis was the lead government witness against his former employer and one-time college roommate, R. Allen Stanford. Geoffrey Corn teaches criminal law and procedure at South Texas College of Law.
“I think it sends a good message. I mean I think what it tells others who may find themselves in the midst of an investigation of a fraud of similar or even lower magnitude is that cooperation reaps a reward. And it may seem like a light sentence to many, but the thing we have to keep in mind is, what would have been the outcome of the Stanford trial if he had not been a cooperating witness? This is how the game is played, so to speak.”
Davis had faced up to 30 years in prison for helping Stanford carry out the fraud, which cost investors more than $7 billion. As part of Davis’s sentence, the court also imposed a personal monetary judgment of $1 billion, as part of Davis’s obligation to repay stolen funds.
