Statement by Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on today's announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission in regard to the Stanford case:

"I commend the SEC for its determination that those who were swindled out of their hard-earned money by the Stanford Group should qualify for protected 'customer' status under the Securities Investor Protection Act. As I stated before the Financial Services Committee last month, this status is necessary to fulfill what I believe is our obligation to help the victims in this case recover as much as they can. These are families, many of them retired, who in many cases trusted Stanford with their life savings, only to have it disappear and be left with nothing. Many of my constituents were hurt by the fraud committed by the Stanford Group. While I am pleased with this ruling, the Congress is continuing to investigate why the SEC allowed this fraud to continue even after it received initial warnings that something was wrong."