Tom Petters Sentencing Scheduled for March 10

AP via ABC News:

Minnesota businessman Tom Petters is scheduled to be sentenced March 10 on his conviction for orchestrating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Petters Trial Trading Cards... Free!

All cards with sketches from the Petters trial at the Federal Courthouse in Saint Paul.

Click on the cards to make them bigger and download.

First Batch - Tom Petters, Larry Reynolds (Reservitz), Michael Catain and Deanna Coleman.

Second Batch - Greg Bell, Jim Wehmhoff, Tracy Mixon and Ted Deikel

Third Batch - Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Dixon, Tim Rank, John Marti and Judge Richard Kyle.

Fourth Batch - Dean Vlahos, Bob White and defence attorneys Jon Hopeman and Paul Enge.

The Clawback Continues

John Welbes in the PiPress:

The task of recouping the cash that flowed out of the Tom Petters fraud scheme continues. Paying it back won't necessarily be an easy task, even for those being asked to return relatively small amounts.

Cathedral High School in St. Cloud had nothing to do with the scheme. But Petters, who graduated from the school in 1975, gave four separate gifts totaling $252,900. Now, the school is being asked to give it back, Mike Mullin, the school's president, said Thursday.

The money was used a couple of years ago to build an elevator at the school. "None of it is sitting around," he said.

Right now, all Cathedral has is a letter from Doug Kelley, the court-appointed receiver in the Petters case, asking for the money back. Cathedral hasn't received a court order, Mullin said. Regardless, the school doesn't have an easy way to raise the cash.

"One thing we've resolved is that we are not going to negatively impact our current or future families," Mullin said. The school's other options are limited. Mullin mentioned fundraising "or taking the elevator and shipping it" to the Twin Cities as payment.

A federal jury in St. Paul found Petters, 52, guilty of 20 counts of fraud in early December following a six-week trial. The Minnetonka businessman was at the center of a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 2008 and led to a flurry of criminal charges, bankruptcies and many investors left with nothing.

Kelley said he has recovered about $200 million in assets from the individuals involved in the scheme so far. But bigger fish are still on his line, as he's identified $500 million worth of additional "clawback" actions, much of it from investors who got more out of the scam than they put in.

For example:

A 38-foot 2008-model Fleetwood Bounder motor home — valued at $110,000 and belonging to Deanna Coleman, a onetime Petters executive — was sold recently. A court filing by Kelley this week says the Fleetwood was sold along with a Haulmark trailer and a heated storage unit for $148,500. The money goes into a fund that eventually will be used to give something back to victims and creditors.

At parent company Petters Group Worldwide, Coleman worked closely with Tom Petters and was central to the fraud scheme that attracted investors by promising substantial returns. She went to federal authorities in 2008 and exposed the scheme, later pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She testified against Petters at his trial in the fall.

Tom Petters Defender Bradlee Dean Calls U.S. Marshall Appointment "a Crime"

Minnesota Independent:

Sharon Lubinski was set to be sworn in as U.S. Marshal Friday morning in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis assistant police chief was recommended by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar last year, then nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate.

Lubinski is widely regarded as the first lesbian to hold the position. She will serve in the District of Minnesota.

Bradlee Dean, a special friend of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, had this to say about Lubinski's appointment today on his AM 1250 The Patriot Sons of Libery radio show:

Just this week Obama and Amy Klobuchar in the state of Minnesota nominated Sharon Lubinski to United States Marshal in the state of Minnesota.

Now keep mind that I said sodomy and homosexuality are against the law in the United States.

But, what did Obama do and Amy Klobuchar do? They nominated Sharon Lubinski to the U.S. Marshal in the state of Minnesota. Not only is she the first woman, but she is the first lesbian to serve in such a position.

Again folks, this is against the law.

Later on, Bradlee Dean critiicizes Governor Tim Pawlenty for not blocking the appointment... listen:



Bradlee Dean was a big defender of Tom Petters:

Minnesota Teen Challenge Received Millions from MN

Andy Birkey at MnIndy:

Minnesota Teen Challenge describes itself as a “para-church” ministry that completes the “spiritual restoration” of Minnesotans dealing with drug addiction, yet over the last seven years it’s received more than $10 million in government funds — and twice the Minnesota Legislature has singled the program out for a raise.

The arrangement raises questions about the constitutional separation of church and state, and some experts say the state has overstepped its bounds in contracting with Teen Challenge.

--snip--

Klobuchar would go on to help secure a federal earmark for the program as U.S. Senator in 2008 along with former Rep. Jim Ramstad. And the organization has secured the support of a number of other elected officials. First Lady Mary Pawlenty was a past member of the board of directors, and Gov. Pawlenty has donated a large sum of campaign funds ($85,892) to the program. Rep. Michele Bachmann donated $9,200 in campaign funds related to the Tom Petters Ponzi scheme scandal, but Teen Challenge later returned the “tainted” funds.

More at Truth Wins Out.