Petters, 52, has pleaded not guilty to a 20-count indictment on fraud charges. The trial is expected to run a month or more.
Prosecutors call the evidence against Petters "overwhelming." They'll arrive in court having reviewed thousands of documents, Petters' company computer files and e-mail messages he sent to associates about the alleged scheme. Those same associates indicated at their plea hearings that they have the inside knowledge to tie the whole case together.
The article by John Welbes has this timeline:
AN EMPIRE FALLS
Sept. 24, 2008: Federal agents raid the Minnetonka headquarters of Petters Group Worldwide and the home of its chief executive, targeting a little-known financial division called Petters Co. Inc.
Sept. 29, 2008: Tom Petters resigns as CEO of Petters Group Worldwide. Minneapolis attorney Doug Kelley takes over.
Oct. 3, 2008: Tom Petters is arrested at his Wayzata home and held without bail. Larry Reynolds is arrested the same day in Las Vegas. Both are charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
Oct. 6, 2008: Mendota Heights-based Sun Country Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery puts the other Petters Group companies into receivership under Kelley and freezes their assets.
Oct. 8, 2008: U.S. Magistrate Jeffrey Keyes denies Petters bail, calling him a flight risk. Petters' associates Robert White, Deanna Coleman and Michael Catain plead guilty of mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
Oct. 11, 2008: Petters Group Worldwide files for Chapter 11. Among the creditors: Illinois hedge fund company Lancelot Investment Management, which says it is owed $1.5 billion.
Oct. 23, 2008: Larry Reynolds pleads guilty of money laundering.
Oct. 31, 2008: U.S. District Judge Michael Davis denies Petters' second request for bail.
Dec. 1, 2008: A federal grand jury in St. Paul indicts Petters, charging him with two counts of conspiracy and 18 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He pleads not guilty the next day.
Dec. 18, 2008: Polaroid Corp., owned by Petters since 2005, files for Chapter 11. The company later is sold to liquidators for $88 million in a contested auction.
Dec. 19, 2008: James Wehmhoff, an accountant for Tom Petters and Petters Group Worldwide, pleads guilty of filing false tax returns.
Jan. 2009: Trial is postponed from February to June.
March 2009: Petters' lawyers ask to withdraw, saying they're worried about getting paid. The motion is denied.
July 2009: Petters' defense attorneys say their client was duped by Larry Reynolds, who they say has an extensive criminal history and was in the federal witness-protection program. Petters' trial is delayed again, to Oct. 26.
Oct. 7, 2009: Hedge fund founder Gregory Bell pleads guilty of wire fraud for feeding more than $2 billion of client assets to Petters' alleged Ponzi scheme.
Tom Petters, 52, has pleaded not guilty to a 20-count indictment on fraud charges.
