Petters says he suspected fraud in his empire but firm shut down before he could investigate

Petters says he suspected fraud in his empire

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota businessman Tom Petters says he suspected fraud in the company at the heart of his empire, but the government shut it down in 2008 before he could get to the bottom of it.

That came in response to questions from his defense attorney, Jon Hopeman, during Petters’ fraud trial Thursday morning in federal court in St. Paul. Petters claims his close associates carried out the fraud without his knowledge.

Later Thursday morning, Petters faced cross-examination from prosecutor Joe Dixon, who led him to acknowledge that his Petters Group Worldwide empire would not have existed had it not been for the money from Petters Co. Inc.

That’s the company the government claims was at the center of a Ponzi scheme that cost investors $3.65 billion.