Dakota Plains Holdings Co-Founder Sentenced For Stock Manipulation Scheme

Ryan Gilbertson also was fined $2 million and ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Minnesota man who helped found a business in North Dakota’s oil patch has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud in a stock manipulation scheme.

Ryan Gilbertson also was fined $2 million and ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Gilbertson co-founded Dakota Plains Holdings, which owned a North Dakota facility that loaded oil onto rail cars.

He was accused of manipulating the company’s stock after it went public in 2012.

A spokesman for Gilbertson says he plans to appeal.

Dakota Plains filed for bankruptcy in 2016.