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Stanford exec charged with obstruction and conspiracy


    HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury in Houston indicted the former chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group on obstruction and conspiracy charges on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said.

    Laura Pendergest-Holt, who was arrested in February on one criminal count of obstruction, also faces civil charges for her role in an $8 billion (5 billion pounds) fraud involving high-yield certificates of deposit issued by Allen Stanford's offshore bank in Antigua.

    The indictment alleges that Pendergest-Holt gave false testimony to investigators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February.

    A lawyer for Pendergest-Holt was not immediately available for comment.

    An arraignment date has not been set. The executive has been free on a $300,000 bond.

    Pendergest-Holt faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of the counts, prosecutors said.

    (Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston)