Stanford back in jail after hospitalization

US financier and cricket mogul Allen Stanford is back in a Texas prison after a brief hospitalization, his lawyer's office said Tuesday.

Stanford, who is being held on charges of a multi-billion-dollar fraud, was taken to hospital last week with heart problems on the same day as his former chief financial officer, James Davis, pleaded guilty to fraud and obstruction charges.

Stanford had a heart catheterization to diagnose the problem and doctors discovered a "non life-threatening" aneurysm in his leg, an assistant to lawyer Dick DeGuerin said.

The flamboyant Texan billionaire was returned to jail either late Monday or early Tuesday morning and is staying in the prison infirmary, the assistant said.

The 59-year-old faces up to 375 years in jail if convicted on 21 charges of fraud, money-laundering and obstruction.

Stanford has been struggling to find a lawyer while he sees his Caribbean islands, mansions and a fleet of jets sold off to pay victims of an alleged decade-long, seven billion dollar Ponzi scheme. He has already lost one defense attorney for not paying his bills and was having trouble finding another to defend him without guaranteed compensation.

CHICAGO, AFP