The billionaire financier is serving a 110-year prison sentence for bilking investors out of more than $7 billion. The court-ordered receiver for his creditors, Ralph Janvey, sued the committees for return of $1.6 million in political contributions.
U.S. District Judge David Godbey of Dallas awarded Janvey the money to distribute among Stanford's investors, but the party campaign committees appealed contesting Janvey's right to compel the refunds.
In a 14-page opinion filed Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld Godbey's decision.
A message to the committees' attorneys hasn't been returned.
