Prosecutors blame Petters for $3.5 billion fraud, says he lied when shifting responsibilityNovember 23rd, 2009 Prosecutors blame Petters for $3.5B fraudST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal prosecutor has asked a jury to hold Minnesota businessman Tom Petters responsible for a massive fraud at his company.
Petters says he planned to tell government about massive fraud; defense rests its caseNovember 20th, 2009 Petters says he planned to tell gov't about fraudST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota businessman accused of running a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors out of billions of dollars said Friday that a 2008 raid by federal agents on his company was unnecessary and caused its collapse.
Petters denies in testimony desire for high life drove him to multibillion-dollar Ponzi schemeNovember 19th, 2009 Petters insists in testimony associates hid fraudST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota businessman Tom Petters stuck to his story Thursday that he didn't know that his close associates were carrying out an enormous fraud at Petters Co.
Petters admits close relationship to top associates, but says they still hid fraud from himNovember 19th, 2009 Petters, on trial, insists associates hid fraudST. PAUL, Minn. — Prosecutors are attacking Minnesota businessman Tom Petters' claim that his trusted associates carried out a multi-billion-dollar fraud behind his back.
Defense starts telling its side in federal fraud trial of Minn. businessman Tom PettersNovember 16th, 2009 Prosecution rests in Petters' fraud trialST. PAUL, Minn. — The defense is telling its side in the fraud trial of Minnesota businessman Tom Petters.
Former Petters associate with criminal past explains role in alleged $3.65B Ponzi schemeNovember 9th, 2009 Petters associate explains how alleged scam workedST. PAUL, Minn. — A key figure in the case of a Minnesota businessman accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme acknowledged Monday that he was a disbarred lawyer with a criminal record who had entered the federal witness protection program decades earlier.
Jurors begin deliberations at NY trial of 2 ex-Bear Stearns hedge fund managersNovember 9th, 2009 NY jurors deliberate at hedge fund trialNEW YORK — A jury began deliberations Monday at the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers charged with lying to investors. Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges in the first criminal case to hit Wall Street amid the housing market meltdown.
Jury deliberations resume in NJ murder trial of Fla. man who claims he was too fat to killNovember 6th, 2009 Jury deliberations resume in 'fat defense' trialHACKENSACK, N.J. — Jury deliberations resumed Friday in the New Jersey murder trial of a Florida man who claims he was too fat to kill his former son-in-law.
Petters' defense spotlights recordings in which colleagues wonder about his knowledge of fraudNovember 4th, 2009 Petters team tries to turn recordings to advantageST. PAUL, Minn. — An attorney for the Minnesota businessman accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme attacked the credibility of the prosecution's star witness Wednesday, playing recordings in which she and other key figures in the case speculated about how much he knew about the scam.
Star witness in Petters fraud case says despair of finding way out of scam drove her to fedsNovember 3rd, 2009 Petters aide weeps as she recalls going to fedsST. PAUL, Minn. — The star prosecution witness in the fraud trial of Minnesota businessman Tom Petters wept Tuesday as she explained her decision to go to federal investigators.
Whistleblower testifies at fraud trial that investor checks at Petters funded employee bonusesNovember 3rd, 2009 Witness: Investor checks at Petters funded bonusesST. PAUL, Minn. — A key aide to a businessman accused of a multibillion-dollar fraud says investors who thought their money was going toward merchandise sales were funding millions in employee bonuses.
At Petters trial, whistleblower and secret recordings paint picture of money problemsNovember 2nd, 2009 Whistleblower recounts money problems at PettersST. PAUL, Minn. — A longtime aide to a Minnesota businessman accused of operating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme said Monday that he was struggling to find new money and hold off nervous investors by the time she went to federal prosecutors to report the alleged scheme.
Investor details how $60M evaporated in alleged Ponzi scheme run by Tom PettersOctober 30th, 2009 Investor details $60M lost in alleged Petters scamST. PAUL, Minn. — Jurors in a Minnesota businessman's fraud trial heard Friday how one hedge fund was fooled into losing $60 million in what prosecutors call one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever uncovered.
Prosecution outlines how Minn. businessman allegedly engineered multibillion Ponzi schemeOctober 28th, 2009 Prosecutor: Bogus orders at heart of Ponzi schemeST. PAUL, Minn. — Businessman Tom Petters wanted to "live the life of a corporate tycoon," so he engineered a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of billions of dollars, prosecutors said at the start of his fraud trial Wednesday.
His empire in ruins, Minn. businessman Tom Petters faces trial in alleged $3.65B Ponzi schemeOctober 25th, 2009 Federal trial looms in alleged $3.65B Ponzi scheme
MINNEAPOLIS — Until the Bernard Madoff scandal broke, it was a Minnesota businessman who stood accused of orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme authorities could ever recall. Tom Petters, 52, who seemed to have a golden touch as he built a small merchandise liquidation company into a diversified empire that owned well-known businesses such as Polaroid, goes on trial this week.
