Money returned to victims of nearly $2 billion Ponzi scheme totals $722 million
MARY DIVINE, 15 June 2021
Doug Kelley has been working since 2008 to help organizations and individuals who lost billions in the Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters’ Ponzi scheme, the biggest financial crime in Minnesota history.
The bankruptcy trustee’s search to collect assets linked to Petters’ $1.925 billion scheme spanned 26 countries, including the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the British Virgin Islands.
Now, after 13 years, he says his work is almost done.
As of last week, $722 million has been recovered and returned to victims and creditors, according to a motion filed last week in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to approve final fees and costs and close the receivership.
Just four or five cases remain, including one filed against the Bank of Montreal in Canada, which could bring in an additional “significant amount,” Kelley said Monday.
