abstract:Laura Pendergest-Holt (born 1974) is a convicted Ponzi scheme artist, financier, and former Chief Investment Officer of Stanford Financial Group, who was charged with a civil charge of fraud on February 17, 2009. On May 12, 2009, Pendergest-Holt was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of a criminal complaint of obstructing a fraud investigation and conspiracy to obstruct justice.