Thomas J. ("Tom") Petters is an American businessman, a philanthropist and the former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations. He later was convicted for turning Petters Group Worldwide into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Petters was raised with six siblings in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He worked at his family's tailor, fur and fabric shop that was f...
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Thomas J. ("Tom") Petters is an American businessman, a philanthropist and the former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations. He later was convicted for turning Petters Group Worldwide into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Petters was raised with six siblings in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He worked at his family's tailor, fur and fabric shop that was founded by his great-grandfather and operated for over 100 years. In 1973, while still in high school, he started Ear Electronics, a mail-order stereo company aimed at college students. Petters only completed one quarter of college before dropping out to pursue a career. In the early 1980s, Petters worked in Colorado as a regional manager at an electronics store chain; when that business went bankrupt he purchased five of its locations in Colorado and Kansas.
In 1988, Petters moved back to Minnesota and founded Amicus Trading, a wholesale...
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