Dozens Of Lawyers Try To Recoup Petters Investments

ST. PAUL  (AP) -- Dozens of attorneys packed a federal courtroom in St. Paul on behalf of clients who lost money in Tom Petters' $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme.

More than 85 lawyers, representing people around the country, were in court Tuesday. Trustee Doug Kelley says he and his legal team have filed 202 civil lawsuits seeking $1.7 billion. The hearing was set up to determine a timeline on how the lawsuits will proceed.

There are nearly 400 defendants in the 'clawback' lawsuits against Petters. A jury convicted the Wayzata businessman -- and St. Cloud native --  in 2009 on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. A federal appeals court has scheduled oral arguments Feb. 17 in the Petters case.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)