Red Flags

David Phelps at the Strib reports U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kishel has ruled to allow a consolidation of clawbacks of hedge funds in one proceeding and the judge says there were several "red flags" the investors should have noticed that indicated Tom Petters was a fraudster.

One big red flag not mentioned is Tom Petters' associate Frank Vennes. A lot of these high-rolling investors, not to mention several elected officials apparently knew Mr. Vennes served time for a conviction for money laundering and invested anyways.

I took a look at the judge's ruling and could find only one mention of Frank Vennes - a footnote in one of the 107 pages. This is it:

James Fry of Arrowhead was indicted on various criminal charges, on the assertion that he worked with Frank Vennes of Metro Gem to fraudulently lure investors into the Petters scheme.