Tycoon Allen Stanford lived large, donating his dollars to the worlds of sports and politics.

Now that he has been charged with running an 8 billion dollar fraud, politicians Allen Stanford's donated money to charity, and sports
organizations are severing ties to his company. Fred Katayama reports.

STANFORDGROUP.COM -
Things come big in Texas, and Allen Stanford epitomized it. The
fifth-generation Texan lived as large as the fraud charges he now faces. He
owns several homes around the Caribbean. He ranked 205th on Forbes magazine's
list of the world's richest with estimated wealth exceeding 2 billion
dollars.

The flamboyant financier's business empire stretches from this bank in
Antigua to the Stanford Financial Group in Houston. He took an insurance firm
founded by his grandfather in a small town and grew it into a money management
firm boasting 50 billion in assets.

"Sir Allen" as he's referred to on his company's website,
aggressively marketed his brand name. He was knighted not by Britain but
Antigua.

A graduate of Baylor University, he boasted of blood ties with the founder
of Stanford University. False, says the university, although he apparently
donated money for the restoration of the Leland Stanford Mansion.

Not content with finance, he tried to build a beachhead in Washington. He
bought a policy study firm from Charles Schwab. And the Center for Responsive
Politics says he spent nearly 5 million dollars in lobbying. He contributed
millions of dollars to politicians like President Barack Obama and John
McCain.

Stanford gave to sports stars as well. He sponsors golfer Vijay Singh, who
endorses his company. And he's also a big patron of cricket and polo.

But his world has changed, now that regulators have charged him with an 8
billion dollar fraud involving certificates of deposits that promised higher
than normal interest rates.

Obama, Senator Bill Nelson and other politicians have vowed to give his
donated money to charity. Tennis and cricket groups severed their ties. And
when FBI agents found Stanford yesterday, he was in Fredericksburg, Virginia,
a modest town that's a far cry from his world of wealth and glamor.