Jason Bo-Alan Beckman, Wire and Mail Fraud, Minnesota 2012

Minnesota Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Role in Trevor Cook Ponzi Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS— Earlier today in federal court, United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced three individuals in connection to the multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Trevor Cook.

Jason Bo-Alan Beckman, age 43, of Plymouth, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison, on 17 counts of wire and mail fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of money laundering, two counts of filing a false tax return, and one count of tax evasion. Because the federal criminal justice system does not have parole, Beckman will spend virtually his entire sentence behind bars. He and the other co-defendants sentenced today were also solely and jointly ordered to pay $155,359,411.77 in restitution to the victims of their fraud scheme.

Gerald Joseph Durand, age 61, of Faribault, was sentenced to 240 months on 12 counts of wire and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering, two counts of concealing a material fact from the United States, and three counts of filing a false tax return.

Christopher Pettengill, age 56, also of Plymouth, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison on one count of securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.

The sentencing of Patrick Kiley, age 74, was rescheduled for January 18, 2013, after he requested and received a continuance following the appointment of a new lawyer. Kiley will be sentenced on 12 counts of wire and mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering.

Beckman, Durand and Kiley were charged in a second superseding indictment on February 22, 2012, and were convicted on June 12, 2012, after a near-two-month trial. Pettengill was charged on June 13, 2011, and pleaded guilty on June 21, 2011.

In sentencing Beckman, Judge Davis called him a central figure in the fraud scheme, adding that the harm he caused was worse than using a gun because he “used the English language to violate so many.” Beckman and his co-conspirators defrauded more than 725 people during the course of their fraud scheme.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/three-individuals-sentenced-connection-trevor-cook-ponzi-scheme