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.

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.

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 bankruptcy trustee in the case has struck deals with 30 of the fraudster's former employees. The deals include some sizable settlements with former executives. The money will eventually be redistributed to victims of the multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Tom Petters is serving a 50-year sentence.