After nearly a decade, victims of disgraced Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters’ sweeping Ponzi scheme have started recouping some of their losses.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced that an initial distribution of about $16 million has been issued to victims who got tangled up in Petters’ $2 billion scheme, the biggest financial crime in Minnesota history.
The money will be sent to some 364 victims worldwide, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota.
The funds were forfeited through criminal and civil proceedings won by prosecutors.
Additional forfeited funds will be distributed at a later date, with the total amount to be disbursed still pending, the U.S. attorney’s office reported.
Petters, 61, of Wayzata, was indicted in 2008 on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for operating the $2.1 billion Ponzi scheme.
A year later, a federal jury found him guilty on all counts and he was sentenced by a judge to 50 years in prison.
Others wrapped up in the enterprise were also convicted.
As part of their sentences, Petters and others were ordered to forfeit assets gained through the Ponzi scheme, including bank and investment accounts, vehicles and real estate, authorities say.
Federal law allows the Justice Department to distribute the proceeds from the forfeited items to victim investors who lost money.
Victims are also receiving payments as the result of ongoing bankruptcy and receivership proceedings in various states, including Minnesota.