U.S. court vacates ruling against Golf Channel over Stanford fraud

[July 01, 2015]  (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out its own ruling that could have forced the Golf Channel to repay $5.9 million it received from convicted swindler Allen Stanford.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Golf Channel's request to vacate its March 12 ruling and instead ask the Texas Supreme Court to address a disputed question of state law.

Golf Channel, owned by Comcast Corp, had argued that it acted in good faith in receiving the $5.9 million, and in exchange offered sufficient value to Stanford in the form of advertising.

The 5th Circuit asked the Texas Supreme Court to explain what showing of "value" would suffice under the state's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, such that Golf Channel might avoid having to repay the $5.9 million to Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver for Stanford's companies.

Stanford, who is serving a 110-year prison term, has appealed his conviction. Prosecutors said he ran a $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme centered on fraudulent certificates of deposit from his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.

The case is Janvey v. Golf Channel Inc, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-11305.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by G Crosse)

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