Securities Fraud

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The defense for Minnesota businessman Tom Petters says his client is the victim of a "fraud within a fraud" and that he is not guilty of masterminding a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $3.5 billion.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Minnesota businessman accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme testified Tuesday that he did not knowingly participate in the fraud and may have "trusted some people far too much." Tom Petters took the stand in the third week of his trial on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering and proclaimed his innocence.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The federal government might get to collect billions of dollars in court-ordered restitution under a new divorce decree between former Cendant Corp.