BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota grain trader accused of running his business like a Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to 8 years in prison. The judge has also ordered 22-year-old Hunter Hanson of Leeds to pay over $11 million in restitution. He will also have to forfeit property. Hanson pleaded guilty in July to charges of wire fraud and…
MINOT, N.D.–A Minot man will serve six years in prison after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography. A federal judge has also ordered 39-year-old Tyrell Arthur to pay more than $3,000 in restitution to his victims. The indictment states that Arthur distributed pictures showing minors engaging in sex from February to August of 2018. Arthur will also have to serve…
EDMORE, ND — A pastor in Ramsey County has pleaded guilty to stealing from his congregation. Donald Reynolds has been sentenced to spend a month behind bars or complete 300 hours of community service. He is accused of taking nearly $35,000 from High Plains Ministry in Edmore over a period of 14 years. Reynolds faced a maximum of 10 years in…
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…
TWIN BUTTES, ND — A woman convicted of embezzling from a school district on the Fort Berthold Reservation has been elected to its school board. Melissa Starr received 35 write-in votes to win a seat on the Twin Buttes board in a special election Tuesday. The town is northwest of Bismarck. Starr pleaded guilty in 2007 to embezzlement and theft…
FARGO, N.D. — The man who headed up the Sanctuary Events Center in Fargo has been sentenced for embezzling thousands of dollars from the venue. Richard Pallay III pleaded guilty to theft and was given 150 hours of community service and a year of supervised probation. $10,000 in restitution has been paid to the Sanctuary Events Center. Pallay still owes over…
OTTER TAIL COUNTY, Minn. — Three out-of-state anglers had one expensive trip to the land of ten thousand lakes. The DNR cited them for possessing 130 bluegills over the limit on a central Otter Tail County lake. They face combined fines and restitution of over $2,200. Conservation Officer Troy Richards says a tip from the public led to the…
BISMARCK, ND — Three more people charged in a Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate embezzlement case have been sentenced in federal court. Colette White was given three years of probation and fined $3,000, Gerald German Jr. three months in custody and a $5,000 fine and Gerald Heminger Jr. three months in custody and a $2,000 fine. They also must pay a total of…
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — Two men from Fergus Falls are linked to the shooting deaths of two trumpeter swans south of that city. A Minnesota DNR officer says the protected swans were shot on a federal waterfowl production refuge. He says the investigation began after the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from someone who heard…
