The cricket-loving billionaire is at the center of the alleged billion dollar fraud involving the Stanford Group.

The Securities and Exchange Commission suspect that Mr.Stanford’s Houston-based firm and its Antigua-based affiliate might have carried out a $8 billion fraud.

From the official press release:

On February 16, 2009, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas signed an order (the “Order”) appointing a Receiver to take possession of all the assets (”Assets”) of Stanford International Bank, Ltd., Stanford Group Company, Stanford Capital Management, LLC, R. Allen Stanford, James M. Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt (”Defendants”) and Stanford Financial Group and The Stanford Financial Group Bldg Inc. (”Relief Defendants” and, together with Defendants, the “Stanford Defendants”). (Click here to view the Order).燩ursuant to the Order, the Receiver will take control of and operate the Assets, and will perform all acts necessary to conserve, hold, manage and preserve the value of the Assets, in order to prevent any irreparable loss, damage, and injury to the Assets.

The alleged fraud is that Stanford offered $8 billion worth of certificates of deposit that promised improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates. Some of the certificates even offered double digit returns.

The SEC also claimed Stanford took part in a $1.2 billion mutual fund scheme that used false performance data, and that he had shielded 90 percent of the company’s money for independent review.