WILLEMSTAD, Curacao (AP) — Allen Stanford's alleged offshore investment fraud snared dozens of people in Curacao and elsewhere in the Dutch Caribbean, a law firm said yesterday.

At least 50 people have registered with the HBN Law seeking help to recover their investments and more are expected to come forward, said Caroline Fievez, an attorney with the firm.

"My telephone is ringing and ringing all day long," Fievez said.

The Stanford Financial Group had a sales office in Aruba, which has been closed since shortly after the US fraud allegations were announced, and representatives throughout the region.

Fievez said investors were lured by the promise of relatively high returns from the certificates of deposit offered by the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, Ltd. Her clients, who have reported losses ranging from $15,000 to $1 million, come from throughout the Dutch Caribbean as well as from Suriname, on the north coast of South America. Similar losses have been reported in a number of countries, including the US, Mexico, and Venezuela.