2nd Minnesota Man Sentenced for North Dakota Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A second Minnesota man has been sentenced for his role in a stock manipulation scheme involving a business in the North Dakota oil patch.

A federal judge says 50-year-old Douglas Hoskins must serve two years in prison. He was convicted of several charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Authorities say Hoskins was a friend of Ryan Gilbertson, who earlier this month was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud. He was fined $2 million and ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution.

Gilbertson founded Wayzata-based Dakota Plains Holdings, which owned a North Dakota facility that loaded oil onto rail cars.

Prosecutors say Gilbertson manipulated the company's stock after it went public in a complex scheme that netted him millions. Hoskins made about $125,000 from stock sales.