Judge sets trial date for Tom Petters

by Martin Moylan, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — A federal magistrate judge has set a trial date of Feb. 9, 2009, for Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters.

A federal grand jury has indicted Petters on 20 counts related to a scheme that allegedly bilked investors out of billions of dollars. Petters has maintained his innocence.

Petters' attorney says he doubts the trial date will hold because there's so much work to do to prepare his case.