Petters exec charged with fraud

Petters World Headquarters
The exterior of Petters world headquarters in Minnetonka.
MPR Photo/Brandt Williams

(AP) - An Excelsior man has been charged with mail fraud and illegal monetary transactions in connection with the federal investigation into a unit of Petters Group Worldwide.

Robert Dean White was charged Tuesday. According to the charging document, White created false purchase orders in order to lure investors -- and he received millions of dollars for his efforts.

An FBI affidavit filed in court last week says White wrote the false purchase orders for Petters Co. Inc., a unit of Petters Group. The affidavit says White was a former PCI officer and current PCI consultant.

The charges refer to PCI only as "Company A" and say the company has more than $3 billion in debt, mostly from the fraudulent scheme that took place over the last 13 years.

White's attorney had no comment.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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