Investors Scammed Via Fake Contracts

ANDOVER, MN—The owner of a printing company has been charged with 36 counts of securities fraud that cheated investors out of more than $53 million, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reported. Gerard Frank Cellette, 44, secured money from investors who were backing printing contracts that were apparently phony in what is generally considered 
a Ponzi scheme.

Cellette, owner of Minnesota Print Services, also faces a civil lawsuit from investors seeking to get their money back, the paper reported. He reportedly promised investors returns of 10 percent to 12 percent within a couple of months. Cellette allegedly enticed more than 100 investors from Minnesota, California, Georgia and Illinois between 2005 and 2009. The initial investors were said to be relatives and acquaintances.

Cellette told authorities that he was a broker for printing contracts, buying paper for a job and subcontracting the work, according to the Star Tribune. PI