There's perhaps only one guy that's glad Allen Stanford has emerged as a financial villain of colossal proportions. That would be Bernard Madoff, who likely is happy to have someone take the glare off of him for a while. But who is Allen Stanford?

Business Week takes a close look and notes that "throughout his professional life, the 58-year-old from the small Texas city of Mexia has shown a knack for rewriting his past and mastering the illusion of being successful, beginning with his very first business venture." 

He would sometimes describe himself as "a distant relative of Leland Stanford, who founded Stanford University." And he was a failed businessman by the time he reinvented himself as an "offshore banker." He talked a lot of people into going along. It looked like an incredible success until the sand caved in. 

For more:
- here's the profile

Related Articles:
Stanford Group news from FierceFinance
Bernard Madoff news from FierceFinance
Scandal news from FierceFinance