Likely Costa's highest-profile prosecution in his six years as a federal prosecutor has been the case against alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford, who was indicted in 2009.
In February 2011, Stanford sued Costa and his fellow prosecutor Paul Pelletier, along with several employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, complaining of "abusive law enforcement" and seeking $7.2 billion in damages [REF].