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Oct 9, 2008 5:50 pm US/Central
Non-Profit That Invested With Petters In Trouble
(WCCO)
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Tom Petters, 51, the founder of Petters Group Worldwide is charged with fraud in an alleged multimillion-dollar investment scheme that prosecutors say spanned 14 years.
Sherburne County Jail
New details keep surfacing in the fraud investigation of a Twin Cities millionaire.
Tom Petters, the owner and former CEO of Petters Group Worldwide, has been behind bars since federal agents arrested him at his home last week.
He's accused of bilking investors out of billions of dollars.
On Wednesday, he was denied bail after the judge agreed with prosecutors that he is a flight risk.
Thursday, WCCO-TV learned about another non-profit that is in serious money trouble because it invested with Tom Petters.
Mars Hill Media distributes Christian videos and literature to church groups.
It says it's out $800,000 after investing just a few months ago.
This latest lawsuit has the same claims as all the others: that the non-profit was shown fake invoices to convince it that Petters was buying and reselling millions of dollars of electronics at a hefty profit.
This suit and others allege the money all went to Petters to support his lavish lifestyle.
Since the murder of his son, John, four years ago, Petters also poured millions into a foundation that provided scholarships for students traveling abroad.
That foundation held ritzy fundraisers like the at a Palm Beach Polo Club.
Petters is in the Sherburne County Jail where he has had visitors like his daughter. He's also able to make phone calls.
Details also keep coming out about Deanna Coleman, the woman who blew the whistle on Petters.
Sources said she started working for him in the early 1990s as a temporary worker, then became his executive assistant, and later a vice president of the company
She and Petters were so close she even donated $25,000 to his son's foundation last year.
Late this afternoon Gov. Tim Pawlenty's election committee announced they are returning $4,000 in contributions from Tom Petters. The statement said the committee is very troubled by the allegations against Petters.
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