Franken fundraiser has criminal past

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Al Franken canceled a Minnesota fundraiser scheduled for Thursday after learning the host had spent a year in prison for fraud.

The senator's staff said they learned of Mark Erjavec's record only this week, two days before the reception in St. Paul, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Franken had planned to attend.

"As soon as we learned about Mr. Erjavec's past, we acted immediately to cancel the fundraiser he was hosting," Franken's office said in a statement. "We notified everyone who had RSVPd to the event and offered to have them as guests sometime in the future."

Erjavec describes himself as an entrepreneur specializing in distressed real estate. But in 1997, he was sentenced to 13 months in prison for theft by swindle.

The lawyer who represented him at the time said Erjavec was young, just 21, and immature. But an uncle, Frank Erjavec, described his nephew's fraud as a Ponzi scheme and told the newspaper he would not trust his money to him.

Franken told reporters after a healthcare roundtable Wednesday that vetting of potential hosts would be more thorough in the future.