The Stanford Affair: Another Bad Day for Proskauer’s Tom Sjoblom

[WSJ Law Blog]

It’s not every day that a well-recognized name in the white-collar defense world — and a former SEC veteran to boot — finds himself in the crosshairs of a major fraud investigation.

But that might be happening to Proskauer Rose’s Tom Sjoblom in what LB readers know as the Stanford Affair.

Today’s development in the case — a guilty plea by Stanford Financial Group’s former CFO, James Davis — provided an indication that they may be setting their sights on Sjoblom, who was outside counsel for Stanford International Bank starting in 2005. (A prior post on Sjoblom’s troubles is here.)

Sjoblom, who served as an assistant chief litigation counsel in the SEC’s enforcement division for 12 years before going into private practice, is mentioned repeatedly in the plea agreement, unveiled today, between DOJ prosecutors and Davis. In the agreement, Davis appears to implicate Sjoblom in a conspiracy to obstruct an SEC investigation into the bank, largely, Davis alleges, by reiterating falsehoods to the SEC. Click here for the agreement, which is a good read and includes a mention of a “blood oath” ceremony between Stanford CEO Allen Stanford and a Caribbean banking regulator.

For starters, Sjoblom comes across in the agreement as a fervent defender of Stanford International Bank as early as 2006. Davis agreed that the government could prove that in 2006 “Outside Attorney A” (Sjoblom) contacted the SEC, which had started an investigation of the bank, to tell the agency that it had “no basis” to request documents concerning the bank’s investment portfolio, and that he “had spent 15 years investigating fraud for the SEC and was ‘well-equipped’ to recognize the ‘hallmarks of fraud.’”

But the allegations relate to events from a couple years later. In 2008, the plea agreement says, Sjoblom was informed that the bank’s CD investment portfolio included a tier of illiquid investments valued at $6 billion and that it wasn’t disclosed to investors. (The tier later turned out to be mostly fictitious.) Also, Sjoblom learned that the bank’s chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt, didn’t manage that part of the portfolio.

But Sjoblom, in a meeting in January of this year with SEC lawyers who were investigating the CD investment portfolio, according to the plea, “falsely maintained” that the company’s chief executive and chief financial officer didn’t “micro-manage” the CD investment portfolio and falsely maintained that Holt would be in the best position to talk about it. Sjoblom then “falsely informed the SEC attorneys at this meeting that [the bank] was ‘not a criminal enterprise.’”

Later, in February, Sjoblom allegedly learned at a Miami meeting with Stanford execs that the bank was, according to the plea agreement, likely insolvent because the CD investment portfolio was essentially fictitious. The chief executive, Allen Stanford, later told him that the bank’s “assets and financial health had been misrepresented to investors.”

A few days later, on Feb. 10, Sjoblom sat by Holt’s side as she told SEC lawyers under oath that “she was unaware of the assets and allocations of assets” in the $6 billion tier, despite the fact that both Holt and Sjoblom had allegedly been given details about the tier in the Miami meeting with Stanford execs. On Feb. 14, Sjoblom resigned from representing the bank and sent a note to the SEC, saying, “I disaffirm all prior oral and written representations made by me and my associates to the SEC staff.”

Sjoblom’s lawyer, James Cole, didn’t return the Law Blog’s call for comment.

WOW - Somebody finally took my advice below and sued Proskauer in a Global Class Action Suit re Stanford!!! That makes two with the first suit filed by Stanford’s CIO Pendergest Holt. They will have to stand in line behind the Iviewit TRILLION dollar suit but…
—-
MADOFF + STANFORD + DREIER + SATYAM + FISERV + ALBERT HU + The 1031 Tax Group LLC - Edward H. Okun = PROSKAUER ROSE & FOLEY & LARDNER
Foley & Lardner partner Patricia J. (Trish) Lane represented FISERV, sue Foley, read on.
Investors who have been burned in these scams should start to seek redress from the lawyers who were involved with these scams. I personally have been trying to notify regulators and authorities of a ONE TRILLION DOLLAR scam that is putting states like New York and Florida at huge risk, as well as, companies like Intel, Lockheed, SGI and IBM. The states and companies involved in the fraud fail to acknowledge the risk exposing shareholders and citizens to impending liabilities. Investigators, courts and federal agents ignoring the crimes and evidence, including a car-bombing attempt on my life. I know how Harry Markopolos felt trying to expose Madoff in a world without regulation.
Did I hear Proskauer Rose is involved in Madoff (involved many clients too) and acted as Allen Stanford’s attorney. Investors who lost money in these scams should start looking at the law firm Proskauer’s assets for recovery. First, Proskauer partner Gregg Mashberg claims Madoff is a financial 9/11 for their clients, if they directed you to Madoff sue them. Then, Proskauer partner Thomas Sjoblom former enforcement dude for SEC and Allen Stanford attorney, declares PARTY IS OVER to Stanford employees and advises them to PRAY, this two days before SEC hearings. Then at hearings, he lies with Holt to SEC saying she only prepared with him but fails to mention Miami meeting at airport hanger. Then Sjoblom resigns after SEC begins investigation and sends note to SEC disaffirming all statements made by him and Proskauer, his butt on fire. If you were burned in Stanford sue Proskauer.
Proskauer Rose and Foley & Lardner are also in a TRILLION dollar FEDERAL LAWSUIT legally related to a WHISTLEBLOWER CASE also in FEDERAL COURT. Marc S. Dreier, brought in through Raymond A. Joao of Meltzer Lippe after putting 90+ patents of mine in his own name, is also a defendant in the Federal Case.
The Trillion Dollar suit according to Judge Shira Scheindlin is one of PATENT THEFT, MURDER & A CAR BOMBING. For graphics on the car bombing visit [I-View-It] (Welcome to Iviewit Techologies, Inc.).
The Federal Court cases
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Docket 08-4873-cv - Bernstein, et al. v Appellate Division First Department Disciplinary Committee, et al. - TRILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT
Cases @ US District Court - Southern District NY
(07cv09599) Anderson v The State of New York, et al. - WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUIT
(07cv11196) Bernstein, et al. v Appellate Division First Department Disciplinary Committee, et al.
(07cv11612) Esposito v The State of New York, et al.,
(08cv00526) Capogrosso v New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, et al.,
(08cv02391) McKeown v The State of New York, et al.,
(08cv02852) Galison v The State of New York, et al.,
(08cv03305) Carvel v The State of New York, et al., and,
(08cv4053) Gizella Weisshaus v The State of New York, et al.
(08cv4438) Suzanne McCormick v The State of New York, et al.
( ) John L. Petrec-Tolino v. The State of New York

More @ [Expose Corrupt Courts] Expose Corrupt Courts
---
Eliot I. Bernstein
Mad Inventor
Iviewit Holdings, Inc. – DL
Iviewit Holdings, Inc. – DL
Iviewit Holdings, Inc. – FL
Iviewit Technologies, Inc. – DL
Uview.com, Inc. – DL
Iviewit.com, Inc. – FL
Iviewit.com, Inc. – DL
I.C., Inc. – FL
Iviewit.com LLC – DL
Iviewit LLC – DL
Iviewit Corporation – FL
Iviewit, Inc. – FL
Iviewit, Inc. – DL
Iviewit Corporation
2753 N.W. 34th St.
Boca Raton, Florida 33434-3459
(561) 245.8588 (o)
(561) 886.7628 (c)
(561) 245-8644 (f)
iviewit@iviewit.tv
Welcome to Iviewit Techologies, Inc.
[Iviewit Blog] Iviewit Blogosphere
[Eliot Blog] Eliot’s Blogosphere To Take Back Our Democracy