Awhile back, early in the emerging Petters scandal, I wrote a bit about the mysterious case of Frank Vennes Jr., "facilitator" of the Tom Petters' ponzi scheme.
Yesterday, the Strib let fly with a story about Vennes' knowledge of the Petters' ponzi scheme some 9 months before the feds shut the whole thing down.
This is hardly news. An experienced grifter, religious conversion notwithstanding, Vennes had to know in this godly heart that something was not quite right: it's the too good to be true principle. What did he care? Petters compensated him mightily, providing most of Vennes' income, $28 million, according to the Strib.
If Vennes learned of Petter's fraud scheme just 9 months before the feds raided Vennes' home as stated in the Strib article, then the big question is now whether faith-based Frankie continued to serve as a facilitator steering investors towards Petters. The article already states that Vennes did not alert anyone but his own attorney, christ-like Craig Howse, when alledgely learning that he was waist-deep in a fraud scheme worth possibly $3.5 billion. (That figure keeps growing by the way. Will it reach $5 billion?)
Which means that Vennes was sitting on the board of Minnesota Teen Challenge with knowledge that that the organization had millions invested in a ponzi scheme; Vennes possibly was responsibile for Teen Challenge making that investment.
This brings us to interesting questions. Was he using faith-based organizations and the Christian community as easy marks? Was Vennes, whose previous crime career involved money-laundering, using the Christian non-profit world and unsuspecting preachers as the ultimate money laundering scheme? Did others in the faith-based world have knowledge of fraud that Petters and Vennes were perpetrating but were content to skim big money off it?
After all, as Rick Warren says, "With God’s authorization, the outcome is guaranteed to be successful." The possibilities are endless with that creed.
I doubt that Vennes was in the dark about the Petters operation at any point although being an experienced flim-flam man, he knew when to keep his mouth shut, even to Petters.
The feds will be searching Vennes' email account and that of this son, Denley. According to the Strib, Vennes sent documents to investors through those two accounts. Apparently that search warrant is sealed at this point. It's twenty-four pages? I'd sure like to see it.
Correction: The warrant is not 24 pages. The affidavit is, I think.
--Loosestrife
Yesterday, the Strib let fly with a story about Vennes' knowledge of the Petters' ponzi scheme some 9 months before the feds shut the whole thing down.
This is hardly news. An experienced grifter, religious conversion notwithstanding, Vennes had to know in this godly heart that something was not quite right: it's the too good to be true principle. What did he care? Petters compensated him mightily, providing most of Vennes' income, $28 million, according to the Strib.
If Vennes learned of Petter's fraud scheme just 9 months before the feds raided Vennes' home as stated in the Strib article, then the big question is now whether faith-based Frankie continued to serve as a facilitator steering investors towards Petters. The article already states that Vennes did not alert anyone but his own attorney, christ-like Craig Howse, when alledgely learning that he was waist-deep in a fraud scheme worth possibly $3.5 billion. (That figure keeps growing by the way. Will it reach $5 billion?)
Which means that Vennes was sitting on the board of Minnesota Teen Challenge with knowledge that that the organization had millions invested in a ponzi scheme; Vennes possibly was responsibile for Teen Challenge making that investment.
This brings us to interesting questions. Was he using faith-based organizations and the Christian community as easy marks? Was Vennes, whose previous crime career involved money-laundering, using the Christian non-profit world and unsuspecting preachers as the ultimate money laundering scheme? Did others in the faith-based world have knowledge of fraud that Petters and Vennes were perpetrating but were content to skim big money off it?
After all, as Rick Warren says, "With God’s authorization, the outcome is guaranteed to be successful." The possibilities are endless with that creed.
I doubt that Vennes was in the dark about the Petters operation at any point although being an experienced flim-flam man, he knew when to keep his mouth shut, even to Petters.
The feds will be searching Vennes' email account and that of this son, Denley. According to the Strib, Vennes sent documents to investors through those two accounts. Apparently that search warrant is sealed at this point. It's twenty-four pages? I'd sure like to see it.
Correction: The warrant is not 24 pages. The affidavit is, I think.
--Loosestrife
God knows what Frank did... and Bachmann has God on speed-dial.
We rec'd a tip from a web reader that FV thru his Metro Gold did try to collect from an elderly man dying in the hospital.
After the person was deceased, FV's Metro Gold then seized assets from his Estate.
www.petters-fraud.com
to see the link
You will not believe how many people emailed us and called us to say that FV was a good guy getting a bad rap. I asked them for proof, that just begged that we take down all references to him from our website.
Laser, good stuff on your Petters Fraud site.
Please post the dates of pre-trial hearings.
Thanks.