Petters defense asks federal appeals court for retrial; calls sentence ‘barbaric’

Petters defense asks appeals court for retrial

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Lawyers for Minnesota businessman Tom Petters are asking a federal appeals court to order a new trial for him after he was convicted last December of running a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme.

In papers sent Friday to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, they say Petters’ accusers “were amongst the most prolific liars, forgers and con artists in recent memory.”

The defense contends it was not allowed to present the jury with full evidence about a key prosecution witness, Larry Reynolds. He’s a convicted felon and disbarred lawyer who had been in the federal witness protection program. The defense claims Reynolds masterminded the fraud within Petters’ company without his knowledge.

The defense also calls Petters’ 50-year sentence “barbaric.”