A bankruptcy trustee’s search to recover assets linked to one of the largest financial crimes in Minnesota’s history has netted $722 million.
Doug Kelly says his work to collect assets from Tom Petters’ $1.9 billion Ponzi scheme is nearly done 13 years after the search began.
A motion filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis last week shows the amount recovered and returned to victims and creditors, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel here,” Kelley said. “It has been a long and arduous process that was at times bumpy, but I am quite pleased with the collective return of $722 million.”
Petters, now 63, was indicted in 2008 on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for operating the scheme which spanned 26 countries, including the the Cayman Islands, Germany and Switzerland.
A federal jury found him guilty on all counts and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He is currently an inmate at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Kelly said just four or five cases remain, including one filed against the Bank of Montreal in Canada.
As part of his sentence, Petters was ordered to forfeit assets gained through the Ponzi scheme, including bank and investment accounts, vehicles and real estate. More than 300 lawsuits were filed to recover other profits.
The Associated Press contributed to this article