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The Petters Group Worldwide business, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, included Polaroid Corp., Sun Country Airlines, as well as its financing arm, Petters Co. Inc.

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

2/26/09 - Jailed Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters, accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, is claiming he can’t get a fair trial in Minnesota because of the pretrial news coverage of his case. He wants the trial moved out of state.

Area newspapers say Petters’ lawyers have filed to move the trial to Iowa or Wisconsin.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that lawyers in a memorandum described the case as a “public spectacle.”

Prosecutors have accused Petters of running a business empire that was in fact a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme.

The case not only shattered Petters’ long-held reputation as one of Minnesota’s most successful entrepreneurs, but also put one of the state’s largest private companies at risk of collapse.

The Petters Group Worldwide business included Polaroid Corp. and Sun Country Airlines, as well as its financing arm, Petters Co. Inc.

Petters is being held without bail at the Sherburne County jail.