Stanford fraud victims hope new Congress will tweak rules that have blocked compensation

WASHINGTON — As Congress returns to a radically realigned Washington this week, most lawmakers’ attention will be glued to energy, immigration and spending bills as the new Republican-led majority asserts itself. But behind the headlines, many victims of Allen Stanford’s massive Ponzi scheme will be looking for help, too. They want Congress to rewrite the rules for a large, government-created insurance fund that has yet to pay them a penny. About 20,000 investors worldwide lost $5.5 billion in capital when federal authorities halted Stanford’s scheme in 2009. But first, they’ll have to persuade the Dallas congressman whose voice against their proposal probably counts most in the Capitol. More in the Dallas Morning News here.