No verdict yet in $3.6B Ponzi scheme case

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A federal jury in St. Paul, Minn., broke for the Thanksgiving Day holiday Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the $3.6 billion Tom Petters Ponzi scheme trial.

The 52-year-old chairman of Petters Group Worldwide, whose holdings included Sun Country Airlines and Polaroid Corp., will have to wait at least until Monday to learn his fate after the U.S. District Court jury deliberated about two hours Monday and all day Tuesday without coming to a decision, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The Wayzata, Minn., businessman faces the possibility of life in prison if found guilty of bilking investors in his far-flung business empire. Petters blames the scheme on underlings who have already pleaded guilty and testified he was the mastermind of the massive fraud in which investors were duped into believing his companies were selling consumer goods that didn't exist.