Stanford's father speaks about his son

Though he's listed as a company director, James is not listed in the charges. The fraud investigation is a surprise to him.

When we arrived at the Stanford Financial Group's Mexia office, the sign on the door read that they were not doing interviews. James ended up changing his mind to speak with Eyewitness News and welcomed us in.

"I've never known anything about any of this," he said.

Allen is the flambouyant financier who is also the center of a multi-billion dollar civil fraud case that also names his two Houston companies.

His 81-year-old ailing father spoke with Allen last week. James said his son warned him about the looming allegations.

"If I could tell him anything, I'd say, 'Allen, call me and just do the right thing, whatever it is,'" said James.

Allen was born in the small town of Mexia, about 85 miles south of Dallas. When he was nine years old, he moved to Fort Worth with his mother after his parents divorced.

The first Stanford company, an insurance company, was founded by Allen's grandfather, Lotus Stanford, in 1932. James said it's the only reason why there's still an office in Mexia.

"It's just a place for me to come down, read the paper, and get away from home," said James.

He does no business and sees no clients.

In between his high-profile appearances and business dealings, Allen returns occasionally to visit his father. Last fall was the last time he was in Mexia. James said Allen landed his Gulfstream jet at the local airport.

James said, "He said it took every foot of that extended runway which is 5,000 feet."

Allen never discussed trouble and now that he's facing serious allegations, he can't escape it.

"He's gonna have to answer," said James.

We asked James about his son's federal tax problems since Allen has four tax liens against him with a total of $212,000 million. His father said Allen has been fighting the IRS for many years.

About the FBI investigation into possible money laundering for a Mexican drug cartel, James said while he doesn't believe it he is not surprised by those allegations since their Mexico City office is so successful.