 In early 2009, Stanford became the subject of several fraud investigations, and on February 17, 2009, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud and multiple violations of U.S. securities laws for alleged "massive ongoing fraud" involving $7 billion in certificates of deposits.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Stanford's offices in Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Tupelo, Mississippi.On February 27, 2009, the SEC amended its complaint to describe the alleged fraud as a "massive Ponzi scheme".