THE SECOND FRAUD is a motion picture documentary that exposes the aftermath of the arrest of Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters. Petters was the brilliant mastermind behind the first multi-billion dollar "Ponzi scheme" ever discovered.
Our exposé dives into the initial Petters controversy, exploring how he was able to keep his lucrative scheme going for what authorities say was over a decade, ending with his inevitable conviction on December 2, 2009.
When Petters' scheme was unveiled, the local community was left stunned. Not even the cynical press had seen this coming. Eventually, light was cast on a problem much greater than a simple Ponzi scheme. A second story was developing in the aftermath of the first scandal that was much more sinister.
Ultimately we discovered a tangled web of local professionals: judges, politicians and lawyers, some of which may have knowingly or unknowingly allowed the Petters fraud to perpetuate in the first place. Now these groups are left in charge to clean up the mess. As hundreds of years of legal precedent are blatantly ignored, creditors and victims are crying foul from the sidelines as they are swindled a second time by the very system that is in place to protect them.
How can this be happening? What was the motivation behind these actions? Suddenly it became clear. Tom Petters had been running a Ponzi scheme, but he also had a legitimate business empire holding such entities as the American icon, Polaroid. While there was no money left from the Ponzi scheme, there was plenty in the rest of the Petters Empire. The only problem was, to fund their fee fest, the lawyers involved needed to find a valid connection — or create one.
This film spins the tale of a dark story complete with a colorful cast of characters who are incorporating what we believe to be THE SECOND FRAUD.
THE CONTROVERSY
Ours is truly an independent film. We have worked on a shoe-string budget with a limited crew, yet we have pulled off what we believe to be incredible production value. Our relevance is ripe as we come on the coat tails of Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM : A LOVE STORY, Steven Soderbergh’s THE INFORMANT, and F. Gary Gray’s LAW ABIDING CITIZEN. The public ear is tuned into the truth about both corporate and government greed and corruption.
This film brings to the table hard questions that demand real answers. The local Twin Cities media may have followed the Petters scandal as it happened, but as an outsider, as an independent filmmaker, I bring to the table a different flavor, one that is credible but also digs below the surface.
We bought airtime on every major Network Affiliate to broadcast our film on Sunday, December 13, 2009 and Monday, December 14, 2009. When they saw the content we were dealing with, however, each network independently rejected us.
As a filmmaker, I am not disappointed by what some might call “censorship” in this situation. Others may even say this is disregard of first amendment rights. What fascinates me is what looks like a massive cover up of a continuing fraud—taking place behind the scenes of a fraud that in the public view has been stopped in its tracks. So why isn’t anybody getting their money back?
II say, give my documentary a chance. Let the questions be asked. Let the answers be heard. Do not let precedent be created by a system that may be too corrupt to change once it has gone too far.
Sincerely,
Ryan James Frost
Producer/Writer/Director
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Link to Story
www.TheSecondFraud.com
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