Jason Bo-Alan Beckman

BULLETIN: Patrick Kiley, a radio host and conspiracy theorist who warned of “massive, massive chaos” and became a pitchman for the $194 million Trevor Cook Forex Ponzi scheme in Minnesota, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Kiley, 75, now becomes the fifth person sentenced to a long prison term in the epic […]

UPDATED 9:56 A.M. ET (JAN. 30, U.S.A.) In a heavily redacted complaint, the court-appointed receiver in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme has accused Associated Bank of Green Bay, Wisc., of aiding and abetting the massive caper that has led to jail sentences for Cook and multiple Cook pitchmen. Associated Bank also operates branches in Minnesota, […]

CNBC’s “American Greed” will be in Minneapolis today to begin filming an episode on the massive Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme that was targeted at senior citizens and conservative Christians and rendered some victims penniless, a source told the PP Blog. Cook’s scheme gathered about $194 million. It collapsed in 2009. Money that potentially could go […]

UPDATED 7:52 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) The Star Tribune of Minneapolis/St. Paul is reporting that Jason Bo-Alan Beckman has been sentenced to 30 years in the $194 million Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme and that the sentencing judge scolded Beckman for using the English language as a weapon against investors he harmed. Beckman was Cook’s key rainmaker […]

“The nature and circumstances of this offense and Mr. Beckman’s history and characteristics, viewed together, cry out for a life sentence. With respect to Mr. Beckman, nothing less than a liberty-ending sentence would reflect the seriousness of this offense, promote respect for the law and provide just punishment. But perhaps most importantly, Mr. Beckman must […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog first became aware of reports about the suicide bid of Russell R. Wasendorf Sr. last night, after being contacted by a reader who was defrauded in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme. Wasendorf apparently sought to take his own life on the sparkling Cedar Falls, Iowa, property of Peregrine Financial Group […]

BULLETIN: A new indictment has been returned in the case of Jason Bo-Alan Beckman, Gerald Durand and Pat Kiley — all figures in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme that allegedly gathered $194 million and one was of the largest financial crimes in Minnesota history. Among the stunning new allegations is that Beckman tried to inflate […]

UPDATE: Facing a margin deficit of more than $10 million and at risk of having his trading account closed in February 2008, Jason Bo-Alan Beckman — a figure in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme — sought to address the whopping shortfall and prop up the monumental fraud by stealing about $3.9 million from an elderly […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: UPDATED 7:02 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Former radio host Pat Kiley and two others have been indicted criminally in the $194 million Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors in Minnesota said this afternoon. The others are Jason Bo-Alan Beckman, 41, and Gerald Joseph Durand, 60. Kiley is 73.  He formerly hosted […]

BULLETIN: Christopher Pettengill, a figure in the $194 million Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme, has pleaded guilty in Minneapolis to securities fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy, the FBI said. Read Breaking News coverage in the Star Tribune, which is reporting that Pettengill says he has been cooperating with federal investigators since January. Pettengill, 54, of Plymouth, Minn., […]

A Minnesota man has become the second person with ties to convicted Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook’s Forex scam to be charged criminally. Christopher Pettengill, 54, of Plymouth, “knowingly concealed information from investors concerning the foreign currency program sold by Pettengill, Cook, and others,” federal prosecutors said. He has been charged with securities fraud, money-laundering and […]