The FBI made the first arrest in the Stanford Financial Group fraud investigation on Thursday, detaining Chief Investment Officer Laura Pendergest-Holt on federal obstruction charges.
The U.S. Justice Department said Pendergest-Holt was to make an initial court appearance before a U.S. magistrate in Houston on Friday after her arrest by FBI agents -- in a federal criminal probe that began in June 2008.
The department said Pendergest-Holt concealed her role in and familiarity with the investments of the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank from Securities and Exchange Commission investigators earlier in February.
U.S. securities regulators have filed civil charges against the financial group's chairman, Allen Stanford, along with Pendergest-Holt and Chief Financial Officer Jim Davis, accusing them of fraudulently marketing $8 billion in high-interest certificates of deposit issued by the Antigua bank.
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