Petters reciever seeks millions from former Fingerhut CEO

by Rupa Shenoy, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — The attorney trying to recover illegal profits from Tom Petters' $3 billion fraud scheme is seeking millions of dollars from business leader and former Petters friend, Ted Deikel.

Receiver Doug Kelley is seeking $13.3 million from Ted Deikel, former CEO of the catalog company Fingerhut and a one-time Petters business partner.

Kelley says Deikel earned large sums through Petters' Ponzi scheme, while others lost huge investments. In court documents, Kelley said Deikel either knew he was benefiting from a fraud or ignored key signs of fraudulent activity.

During Petters' trial, Deikel said he lost $7.5 million in the scheme.

Kelley has filed several other lawsuits seeking smaller amounts from former Petters employees, including a claim for $350,000 against Jay Salmen, one-time president of Sun County Airlines.

Neither Kelley, Salmen, nor Deikel returned calls seeking comment.