Petters Informant Revealed
After participating for 15 years in Tom Petters’ entrepreneurial Ponzi schemes, a woman who had looked to Petters as a boss and mentor turned to the FBI, according to the Sunday Star Tribune article.
Deanna Coleman, “apparently overwhelmed by the size of the alleged fraud and feeling guilty for her own role in it, walked into the sixth-floor suite of the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Minneapolis federal building and agreed to become an informant against her mentor and employer of 15 years,� the Star Tribune reported.
Petters lured businesses into bogus short term investments, such as electronics, when “in truth, no such merchandise existed,� Coleman told federal investigators. “Until Coleman walked through the door, the government had no clue about the alleged scheme,� which dates back to 1993, the Star Tribune reported.
Coleman and others have entered guilty pleas, but Petters maintains his innocence, according to the Star Tribune.