Friday, October 9, 2009

Stanford Financial Fallout has Implications for Vijay Singh, PGA & LPGA



Texas billionaire, R. Allen Stanford is the latest swindler accused of bilking investors out of billions of dollars. Stanford is under investigation for $8 billion in fraud. Two months ago Bernard Madoff was accused of bilking investors out of as much $50 billion in a massive ponsi scheme

Stanford who controls Stanford Financial is accused of perpetrating an $8 billion investment fraud?offering investors?unrealistic returns in certificate of deposit products offered through Stanford Financial.

The fraud allegations may have a direct impact on the PGA, LPGA and PGA Tour player Vijay Singh.

Just last month, Sing signed a three year endorsement deal with Stanford Financial, featuring the Stanford logo on his hat, apparel and golf bag.

Stanford financial also is a major sponsor of the PGA Tour`s St. Judes Financial Tour and of the LPGA Stanford Financial Tour. It is not immediately know of what will happen to the sponsorship of these events and whether any money paid by the Stanford Financial group would have to be given back.

Stanford Financial is a major sports sponsors of professional and collegiate sports, including golf, tennis, basketball and cricket.

Like Madoff, Stanford his high profile and reputation coupled with promise of high returns to lure in unsuspecting investors who now stand to lose significant amounts of money. Unlike Madoff`s investors who were investing in stock market type investments, Stanford`s investors were putting money into certificate of deposits, one of the safest places to deposit money and carrying $250,000 FDIC guarantees. The investment vehicle is used by individuals looking for higher returns then they can get in a savings account.

Buyer Beware! When investing or anything else remember, If it sounds to good to be true... It usually is!
Stanford touts their sponsorship of golf on their site, here is what they have to say:

The year 2007 ushered in the inaugural Stanford St. Jude Championship as Stanford Financial Group assumed title sponsorship of the Memphis PGA TOUR stop. The first two years with Stanford at the helm were a success by all accounts. The fields of play were the strongest in the tournament’s recent history, including participation in 2008 by reigning Masters Champion Trevor Immelman and reigning winner of the Players Championship, Sergio Garcia. In addition, the re-engineered strategies for the tournament were cited as a “Best Practices” model by the PGA TOUR and golf industry.

With Stanford as title sponsor, the golf tournament saw an increase in attendance, television coverage and, most importantly, an increase in the donation to St. Jude. Earlier this year, St. Jude received a record donation of $1.76 million from the 2007 tournament, the largest donation in the 38 years that St. Jude has been the sole beneficiary of the Memphis PGA TOUR event. Proceeds from the 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship, seen by more than one billion viewers via The Golf Channel and CBS, are expected to surpass this donation. The 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship was won by Justin Leonard in an exciting sudden death playoff.

The 2009 Stanford St. Jude Championship is set for June 8-14 at TPC Southwind in Memphis.? Learn more at www.stanfordstjude.com.

Stanford Financial Tour Championship

Stanford is further expanding its presence in golf by becoming the new title sponsor of the LPGA’s Tour Championship. We are extremely proud to support this prestigious event on the LPGA Tour calendar and look forward to bringing the very best in women’s golf to Texas. The 2009 Stanford Financial Tour Championship will be held November 17-22.

The field for the inaugural Stanford Financial Tour Championship is incredibly strong with more than 120 LPGA professionals slated to compete in a 72-hole stroke play competition. The championship event will feature a $2,000,000 purse and will be televised live by the Golf Channel and NBC Sports.

Stanford’s support of the LPGA Tour Championship complements our existing golf sponsorship portfolio which includes the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis and endorsements deals with FedExCup Champion Vijay Singh and FedExCup Runner-up Camilo Villegas, as well as rising LPGA Tour star Morgan Pressel. Stanford also has expanded its signature Eagles for St. Jude program to include the LPGA. With the program, Stanford makes a $1,000 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital? for every eagle made during the LPGA and PGA TOUR season.