Shakopee man sentenced for role in $3.1 million ponzi scheme
Shakopee man is sentenced for role in $3.1 million ponzi scheme
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Shakopee man is sentenced for role in $3.1 million ponzi scheme
After his arrest, Ray Brewer claimed he saved several soldiers from a fire while serving in the Navy, but later admitted, "these were both lies meant to curry favor with law enforcement."
A federal jury has awarded a record $564 million in damages to victims of a massive Ponzi scheme by Minnesota businessman Tom Petters.
Last week a judge granted a motion to freeze the couple's assets. Jason and Angela Bullard have one more day to give the court the estimated value of all property, along with how much investors say they are owed.
"They're alleging a very classic Ponzi scheme, much modeled after [Bernie] Madoff," attorney Doug Kelley said.
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that the money will be distributed to approximately 364 people worldwide. This money is in addition to the $16 million that was initially distributed to victims.
Sixty-eight-year-old James Nickels earlier pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Prosecutors say Nickels convinced family, friend and neighbors to invest in his sham business.
About $16.4 million stolen by Tom Petters has now been returned to 364 investors.
Federal authorities say a Minnesota man accused of bilking investors of more than $1 million has pleaded guilty.
A Twin Cities chiropractor who has already spent time in prison for a Ponzi scheme is going back for the same crime.
A St. Paul man is charged with stealing more than $350,000 from a Minnesota brewery, and stealing almost as much from others in an alleged Ponzi scheme.
A 40-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing from investors in his wealth management company and using the money to buy a luxury SUV and run a Ponzi-style scheme.
Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of former Minnesota Vikings Stu Voigt. Voigt and his business partner Jeffrey Gardner head to federal court this week for allegedly bilking investors out of millions of dollars. The two face several criminal charges in connection to a real estate scheme between 2005 and 2007.
More than seven years after the financial collapse of one Minnesota's most powerful businessmen, victims are still waiting for money.
Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Stu Voigt has pleaded not guilty in an alleged Ponzi scheme. Voigt entered his plea Thursday after being indicted earlier in April on charges of conspiracy and fraud.
Two Minnesota men, including a former Minnesota Vikings tight end, are charged with running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars. The U.S. Attorney's office says 66-year-old Stu Voigt and 61-year-old Jeffery Gardner face several criminal charges in connection to a real estate scheme between 2005 and 2007.
A Eden Prairie man plead guilty Wednesday to using his financial planning firm to operate a Ponzi scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars from former clients, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. Sean Meadows, 41, plead guilty to three counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud and money laundering offenses.
Federal prosecutors say a Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of more than $19 million. Fifty-five-year-old Tyrone Herman of St. Anthony entered his plea Friday in U.S. District Court. According to court documents, Herman claimed he could purchase small appliances from manufacturers and wholesalers at below-retail market rates.
The final three defendants have been sentenced in the $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme led by Minnesota businessman Tom Petters. U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle handed down a 7 ½-year sentence Friday to hedge fund manager Bruce Prevost for his role in misleading investors in Palm Beach Capital Management, a Florida hedge fund that put money into Petters' scheme before it collapsed in 2008.
The man found guilty of orchestrating Minnesota's largest Ponzi scheme finally admitted on Wednesday that he did it. Tom Petters was in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Wednesday trying to get 20 years shaved off his prison sentence.
Convicted Minnesota businessman Tom Petters returns to federal court this week to try to shorten his 50-year prison term. The attempt to get 20 years removed might be Petters' last chance to go after a lighter sentence.
Frank Elroy Vennes Jr. was sentenced to 180 months in prison on Friday, in connection with fraudulently raising money through hedge funds for investment in Petters Company. Vennes was a long-time associate of Thomas J. Petters, the Minnesota businessman convicted in 2009 of orchestrating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Despite owing his victims more than $1 million, a Twin Cities chiropractor twice convicted of fraud again has his license to practice. Fifteen years ago, Randy Miland served two years in prison for a Ponzi scheme. He later served another three years for a real estate investment scam. A judge ordered Miland to pay more than one-and-a-half million dollars in restitution. That hasn't happened.
The fourth man convicted in a $194 million Ponzi scheme - the second largest in Minnesota history - was sentenced Monday to 240 months in federal prison. According to the U.S. Attorney General's office, 75-year-old Patrick Kiley of Burnsville was convicted last June of 12 counts of wire and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Kiley - along with ring leader Trevor Cook, Jason Bo-Alan Beckman, Gerald Joseph Durand and Christopher Pettengill – were all solely and jointly ordered to pay $155,359,411 in restitution to their victims.
A former associate of convicted Minnesota businessman Tom Petters has pleaded guilty to lying to investors in a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Sartell, Minnesota, police rescued a woman who was held against her will, according to the Sartell Police Department.
Saturday is a WCCO Top 10 Weather Day!
A federal judge ruled Friday that Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit against the NFL can move forward in open court, instead of arbitration.
It's the second time in as many weeks that government funding has lapsed as Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse over immigration enforcement policies.
In an emotional reunion in Minnesota, a mother returned home to her 2-year-old after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests split up their family and left her toddler in the care of a family friend.
In an emotional reunion in Minnesota, a mother returned home to her 2-year-old after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests split up their family and left her toddler in the care of a family friend.
Search crews in Minneapolis will resume their efforts on Saturday to find a man who an individual said fell through the ice on the Mississippi River near the University of Minnesota, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says.
A 9-year-old girl missing from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, on Monday has been found safe, according to police.
Operation Metro Surge, which sent a record number of immigration agents to Minnesota, may be nearing its end, but nonprofits that receive calls for assistance say there will likely be ripple effects felt for weeks and months to come.
"We have not entered into any new agreements with federal government despite what some influential leaders have conveyed," she said. "Let me add, they didn't call to ask me either.
Sartell, Minnesota, police rescued a woman who was held against her will, according to the Sartell Police Department.
Leaders in both parties across both chambers said in interviews with WCCO that they are committed to working to advance their priorities while acknowledging the political makeup of the building will require bipartisan solutions to the state's biggest challenges.
Last month, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested following a protest at a Minnesota church. In Talking Points, she shares why she felt it was important to protest, her arrest and White House's digitally altered photo of her arrest.
City leaders in Minneapolis say federal immigration enforcement operations cost local businesses and restaurants $81 million in January.
For the past year, an artificial intelligence camera has captured images of people driving distracted on Highway 7 in Minnesota between St. Louis Park and St. Bonifacius. In 2024, there were five fatalities on Highway 7 alone, one of the deadliest years on record, but since the AI technology was added, there have been zero.
Three people are dead after a house fire in a small western Wisconsin town early Saturday.
John Lauritsen shares the story behind a massive snow sculpture that's now become a winter destination.
A jury has found a Wisconsin man guilty of forging threats against President Donald Trump in an attempt to get a witness against him deported.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are among the 11 states reporting their first measles cases of 2026.
Hundreds of schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin have closed or shifted to virtual learning on Friday amid dangerous cold.
Karmel Mall has been mostly silent, with shops closed at the building on East Lake Street. Operation Metro Surge has caused many Somalis to stay home.
The ongoing presence of ICE and federal law enforcement in the Minneapolis area has kept many immigrants at home for fear of being arrested. Now, their neighbors are crowdsourcing to cover their rent.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations aren't only happening in the Twin Cities. Federal agents are also working in smaller towns, and in some, seeing similar resistance from the community.
While Operation Metro Surge continues in the Twin Cities, Minnesota's farm country is also feeling the impact. The major concerns for farmers and the trickle-down effect it could have on consumers.
Minnesota's governor spoke out Sunday afternoon following the shooting death of Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents. "What's the plan, Donald Trump? What is the plan?" Walz said. "Fear, violence and chaos is what you wanted from us, and you clearly underestimated the people of this state and nation."
It's the second time in as many weeks that government funding has lapsed as Democrats and the White House remain at an impasse over immigration enforcement policies.
Operation Metro Surge, which sent a record number of immigration agents to Minnesota, may be nearing its end, but nonprofits that receive calls for assistance say there will likely be ripple effects felt for weeks and months to come.
On Friday morning, workers held a press conference to reflect on how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge has impacted the food industry.
Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused two federal agents of lying under oath regarding the mid-January shooting of a Venezuelan national in Minneapolis.
A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump's administration cannot pull back $600 million in public health grants allocated to four Democratic-led states, including Illinois, for now.
On Friday morning, workers held a press conference to reflect on how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge has impacted the food industry.
January is typically a slow month at Frontiersman Sports, but employees at the St. Louis Park, Minnesota, gun shop said sales spiked 30% above normal for the month.
Amid ongoing immigration operations in Minnesota, a local company is filling a desperate need for on-demand legal help.
Outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday, demonstrators, including many students and teachers, pleaded for Gov. Tim Walz to enact an immediate eviction moratorium to help families impacted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge.
It's part of broader protests calling on the Minneapolis-based retailer to respond more directly to immigration enforcement.
Sartell, Minnesota, police rescued a woman who was held against her will, according to the Sartell Police Department.
Several people charged in connection with a protest at a Minnesota church whose pastor served as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon in a St. Paul federal courtroom.
The St. Paul Police Department says officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Phalen Boulevard and Rose Avenue at approximately 9:10 p.m.
Authorities on Thursday released the first physical description of a male suspect wanted in connection with the Arizona disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota is concluding, with a drawdown of federal immigration officers set to occur over the course of next week.
Dr. Michael Osterholm and Dr. Emil Lou, faculty members with the University of Minnesota, have been recognized by TIME as two of the 100 most influential people in health in 2026.
Minnesota is in the midst of what state health officials call the nation's "largest known outbreak" of TMVII, a sexually transmitted fungal skin infection that can cause severe ringworm.
A new web page dedicated to fact-checking claims about Medicaid fraud in Minnesota has been launched by the state's Department of Human Services, officials said Wednesday.
Public health officials say a measles crisis has long been brewing in Minnesota.
Patients in Minnesota are canceling appointments and deferring critical health care needs because of fear of immigration enforcement as the federal crackdown continues, doctors say.
"Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died at 48 years old.
Social media users incorrectly identified a young boy who was part of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday as Liam Conejo Ramos.
Bad Bunny says he wants to bring his culture to his 2026 Super Bowl halftime show Sunday.
Renowned comedian Dave Chappelle is set to return to the Twin Cities later this month to perform and "show a stand with a community at the center of events that should unite all Americans," show organizers said Monday.
Complete closure of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., will start on July 4, Mr. Trump said. It's not yet clear how extensive the changes to the building might be.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit against the NFL can move forward in open court, instead of arbitration.
The Minnesota Twins have signed right-handers Liam Hendriks and Julian Merryweather to minor league contracts with spring training invitations and acquired left-hander Anthony Banda in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Minnesota revised coach P.J. Fleck's contract to include an annual raise and additional incentives, a move approved by the university's board of regents on Thursday.
The junior guard on the Gopher women's basketball team has already hit 57 three-pointers this season, with five games left in the regular season.
The Minnesota Twins have been unsettled for awhile after long being a model of efficiency and stability within Major League Baseball.
Last month, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested following a protest at a Minnesota church. In Talking Points, she shares why she felt it was important to protest, her arrest and White House's digitally altered photo of her arrest.
Last month, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested following a protest at a Minnesota church. In Talking Points, she shares why she felt it was important to protest, her arrest and White House's digitally altered photo of her arrest.
Last month, activist and former Twin Cities NAACP president Nekima Levy Armstrong was arrested following a protest at a Minnesota church where the leader of a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office serves as a pastor. In Talking Points, Esme Murphy sits down with Armstrong to discuss the protest, her arrest, and her reaction to what she calls a “diabolical” attempt to degrade her image.
One Minnesota group has been leading the charge to train legal observers and document tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Even as Governor Tim Walz and state leaders hint that Operation Metro Surge may be ending, many Minnesota communities say the reality on the ground looks different. On tonight’s Talking Points, Esme Murphy speaks with a leader from COPAL Minnesota, an immigrant rights group training constitutional/legal observers, documenting ICE tactics, and providing resources for detained individuals and the families left behind.
Pine trees are a common sight up north. But on a Carlton, Minnesota, road, they're joined by giant lollipops. They serve as the welcoming committee for Sweetly Kismet, one of the largest candy stores in the state.
John Lauritsen shares the story behind a massive snow sculpture that's now become a winter destination.
Northland Arboretum was built half a century ago on top of what was once a city dump. But over time, nature carved its own path with a little help from a Zamboni.
St. James is a smaller town with a main street and a railroad running though. But inside a local building, the main street and the railroad are even smaller.
On Dec. 9, 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted on CBS, and it became an instant classic. Lee Jenkins' home is proof that the show is still a hit six decades later.
White House border czar Tom Homan, without offering further explanation, claimed the federal immigration operation in Minnesota uncovered thousands of missing children in the state, but it's likely related to a much larger number the administration has been touting for a few years.
As our weather warms, love is also in the air. Valentine's Day is this Saturday, and while we know many of the traditions, Jeff Wagner wanted to get to the heart of the holiday.
The monthslong Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge in Minnesota has sparked ongoing protests, some measured tens of thousands of demonstrators, others just a few dozen.
According to the Police Executive Research Firm, 82% of police departments in the United States equip officers with body cameras. That number comes from 2023, meaning it could be even higher by now.
With the new $2,600 stipend, DHS said the cost of a single self-deportation is $5,100. That's significantly less than the cost to arrest, detain and deport an undocumented immigrant, which DHS said costs more than $18,000.
Minnesotans got a great view of the northern lights Tuesday night.
A look at the newest addition to the polar bear population at St. Paul, Minnesota's Como Zoo.
From food shelves to school programs, our team is proud to serve where it matters most.
The Minnesota State Fair has unveiled its new food, drinks and vendors for 2025.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
Saturday is a WCCO Top 10 Weather Day!
In Minnesota, weather can be all over the place. Here at WCCO, we want to give you what you need to prepare for what's happening next.
Spring-like temperatures are in the air. Temperatures on Saturday could get as high as the high 50s for the southern part of the state and low 50s for central Minnesota. Meteorologist Adam Del Rosso shares just how long this warm trend sticks around and when we return to more seasonable temps.
Temperatures on Valentine's Day will be in the 40s and 50s across most of Minnesota, according to NEXT Weather meteorologist Chris Shaffer.
Saturday is a Top 10 Weather Day, NEXT Weather meteorologist Chris Shaffer says. It will be mostly sunny with light winds and temperatures nearing 50 around the Twin Cities.
Here are your four things to know for Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
The 16th annual Winter Beer Dabbler returns to the Minnesota State Fair Grounds.
Spring-like temperatures are in the air. Temperatures on Saturday could get as high as the high 50s for the southern part of the state and low 50s for central Minnesota. Meteorologist Adam Del Rosso shares just how long this warm trend sticks around and when we return to more seasonable temps.
WCCO's Reg Chapman updates on today's news headlines.
Girls hockey teams across Minnesota competed on Friday night for a chance to play in the state tournament. See highlights from two section final games, including the double overtime battle between Minnetonka and Holy Family. Plus, meet members of Ubah Academy's boys basketball squad who find comfort in the sport amid unrest in the Feb. 13, 2026, edition of High School Sports Rally.