THE SWINDLE: Former jet-setting Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford was convicted of bilking investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years in a major Ponzi scheme.

THE SENTENCE: U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Stanford Thursday to 110 years in prison during a court hearing in which two people spoke on behalf of Stanford’s more than 21,000 investors about how his fraud affected their lives.

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WHAT’S NEXT: Stanford’s conviction cleared the way for U.S. authorities to go after about $330 million in stolen investor funds. Three associates got to trial in September, and a fraud lawsuit is pending.