R. Allen Stanford was arrested Thursday in Virginia by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, his lawyer said, according to reports.

The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce charges against him returned by a grand jury in Houston, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

Stanford has civil charges pending against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission which alleges he committed $8 billion in fraud through his Antigua bank.

His lawyer, Dick DeGuering, told Bloomberg Federal agents surrounded his girlfriend’s house Wednesday afternoon. He said he instructed Allen to turn himself over to the agents if they had a warrant.

He didn’t know if Stanford would be arraigned or whether he would be returned to Houston to face charges that haven’t yet been made public, DeGuerin said.

Criminal Law