The Minnesota businessman had asked the nation's highest court to review his case. Petters was convicted on charges of orchestrating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme and is serving a 50-year prison sentence. His attorneys argued that the trial judge barred them from presenting evidence.

The full Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is denying convicted Minnesota businessman Tom Petters' request to re-hear his appeal. The Pioneer Press reports Petters will now ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case. He was found guilty in 2009 for orchestrating a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme. The 54-year-old is currently serving a 50-year sentence at a federal penitentiary in Kansas.

A federal appeals court has ruled that Minnesota businessman Tom Petters received a fair trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Twin Cities Business sat down with the former Wayzata businessman in Leavenworth Penitentiary, where he's serving a 50-year sentence for his role in a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. But he sticks with the same story he told a courtroom in 2009: He wasn't involved. He says his associates ran the fraud while he was deeply focused on Sun Country Airlines and Polaroid.

The convicted Minnesota businessman recently sat down with Twin Cities Business magazine Editor in Chief Dale Kurschner at a federal penitentiary in Kansas. It's the first time Petters agreed to an interview since being sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The 14-page feature will be in the May issue of Twin Cities Business that comes out April 18.

Frank Vennes and James Fry will go to trial in February after pleading not guilty to a total of 31 criminal counts, the Pioneer Press reports. The charges include wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements. Both men are accused of helping convicted Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters carry out his $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme.