HOUSTON (AP) — Jailed Texas financier Allen Stanford and three executives — all facing charges of bilking investors out of $7 billion as part of a massive Ponzi scheme — will have to wait another five months before learning if they will have to foot their own legal bills.

US District Judge Nancy Atlas scheduled a September hearing to determine whether Stanford and the executives or a British insurer will have to pay.

An appeals court last month ruled legal fees for Stanford and the executives must continue being paid by an insurance policy that takes care of such expenses.

The insurer, Lloyd's of London, says the policy doesn't pay on charges of money laundering, which Stanford and others are accused of doing. The appeals court said a lower court must determine if money laundering was committed in order for the policy to be invalid.

Atlas said that during the late summer hearing, which would begin on September 1 and could last up to five days, attorneys for Lloyd's of London would have to prove how Stanford and each of the executives committed money laundering.

"It's not enough for the carrier to say they are all in it together," Atlas said. "It's up to the (insurer) to tell me how and where money laundering occurred."

The dispute over payment of legal fees is part of a civil lawsuit filed by Stanford and the executives against Lloyd's of London and is separate from the criminal case, which is being handled by another federal judge.

But the September court hearing could give a preview of the criminal trial in January. Atlas said attorneys for both sides would be able to present evidence at the hearing gathered from access to the thousands of court documents prosecutors have put together and indicated will be the main focus of their case.

Stanford and other company executives are accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme by advising clients to invest more than $7 billion in certificates of deposit from the Stanford International Bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Investors from 113 countries were promised huge returns on their CDs and that their investments were safe.

But authorities say Stanford and the executives fabricated the bank's balance sheets, bribed Antiguan regulators and misused investors' money to pay for his lavish lifestyle.

Stanford and the three executives have pleaded not guilty to various charges, including wire and mail fraud, in a 21-count indictment. Another former executive, James M. Davis, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.