'Mini-Madoff' scandal trickles down to Vero Beach
Russ Lemmon: 'Mini-Madoff' scandal trickles down to Vero Beach
By Russ Lemmon (Contact)
Monday, February 23, 2009
This article has been modified from the original version, which incorrectly stated Bernard Madoff's legal status.
Outside the immaculate three-story office building at 582 Beachland Blvd., two-thirds of the parking spaces are reserved for the Stanford Group Co.
Only one of Stanford’s 20 spots was occupied Monday afternoon when I pulled into the parking lot.
The car belonged to a security guard, whose employer has been contracted to provide a 24/7 presence in the office until further notice.
Stanford’s local office, one of 29 nationwide, was shut down by U.S. marshals Friday, three days after the Security and Exchange Commission filed suit against R. Allen Stanford and three of his firms, charging them with an $8 billion fraud that centered on certificates of deposit.
There was no public access to Stanford’s local office on Monday. I tried both the elevator and the stairwell.
In the Beachland Building, located just west of an RBC Bank and across the street from a Marine Bank & Trust, the Stanford Group occupies the first two floors.
The four-year-old building is owned by Becker Trading Co., which is on the third floor.
The Houston-based Stanford Group signed a 10-year lease last March, according to Andy Taylor, vice president of finance for Becker Trading and Peace River Citrus Products.
“It’s one of the most beautiful offices in Vero,” Taylor said. “It’s a stunning office. I think they spent a considerable amount of money putting it together.”
The Stanford scandal has been called “mini-Madoff” — in reference to the suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly orchestrated by Bernard Madoff. (Listed in court documents as one of Madoff’s victims is baseball icon Sandy Koufax, a part-time Vero Beach resident.)
“We thought we had a long-term tenant,” Taylor said. “Everything was going great until the marshals showed up.”
Taylor said he doesn’t expect the office to reopen.
“I would think we’ll be in the market for a new tenant,” he said.
Stanford leases about 5,100 square feet of office space in the building, Taylor said. The square-footage breakdown: 900 on the first floor, and 4,200 on the second floor.
Taylor declined to say how much Stanford pays in monthly rent, only that it’s “commensurate with first-class, professional office space” in the vicinity.
While investors are waiting to see how the Stanford scandal unfolds, so too are the six to eight people who worked in the local Stanford office.
Consider the plight of John Orcutt, who joined the Stanford Group on Jan. 9 as its managing director. He had turned 57 just three days before.
Talk about bad timing.
Orcutt spent more than 24 years at A.G. Edwards, which in 2007 became Wachovia Securities. He declined comment Monday, saying he is prohibited from talking about the situation.
A U.S. federal judge last week froze the assets of Allen Stanford and his companies, placing them into receivership.
While Madoff has been under house arrest since Dec. 17, Stanford has not been arrested.
Indian River County columnist Russ Lemmon can be reached at (772) 978-2205 or russ.lemmon@scripps.com.
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