Tom Petters
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joseph Petters is an American business man and the former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide
. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations. He later was convicted for turning Petters Group Worldwide into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme
and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.
. He worked at the tailor, fur and fabric shop founded by his great-grandfather and operated by his family for over 100 years. In 1973, while still in high school, he started Ear Electronics, a mail-order stereo company aimed at college students. Petters completed only one quarter of college before dropping out to pursue a career. In the early 1980s, Petters worked in Colorado
as a regional manager at an electronics store chain; when that business went bankrupt, he purchased five of its locations in Colorado and Kansas
.
, additional locations followed in the Twin Cities
and greater Minnesota. In 1998 he went online to sell discounted merchandise through redtag.com, operated by RedTag Inc.; by 2000 he sold his Petters Warehouse Direct stores to focus on his online business, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
. He teamed up with direct-mail merchandise company Fingerhut
Companies Inc. in 2001 to start a new online store, Redtagbiz.com, which reported sales of $1 billion per year at one point.
When Fingerhut's owner, Federated Department Stores
, decided to sell or close the company in 2002, Petters, teaming with former Fingerhut chairman Ted Deikel, made an offer to buy the Fingerhut name, customer list, and buildings in St. Cloud, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Minnesota
and Tennessee
. The purchase was made in June 2002 and all of Petters' operations moved into Fingerhut's former headquarters in Minnetonka. Deikel took over Fingerhut Direct Marketing Inc., which created the catalogs, and Petters took over Fingerhut Fulfillment, based at a St. Cloud distribution center; the new Fingerhut restarted with online and catalog sales in November 2002. In April 2003, The Petters Group, with two minority investors, purchased uBid
. The same month, Fingerhut Direct Inc. announced it had obtained a $100 million line of credit to finance inventory and receivables. In 2003, Petters invested in former Democratic State Senator from Minnesota Ted Mondale
's Nazca Solutions. Deikel sold his interest in Fingerhut in 2004.
In January 2005, Petters Group Worldwide purchased the Polaroid
brand for $426 million, with plans to use it on consumer electronics and new technologies. In 2006, Petters Group Worldwide acquired Sun Country Airlines
. Petters Group Worldwide became a diverse holding company with 3,200 employees and investments or full ownership in 60 companies, of which it actively managed 20. With offices in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, it had $2.3 billion in revenue in 2007.
home. Documents released by the FBI, IRS and other federal agencies noted that they were seeking evidence of a scheme to lure investors into funding a company based on tens of millions of dollars in purchases and sales that never occurred. The documents noted that a witness associated with Petters and his company came forward with documents and other information, and later wore a hidden microphone and recorded several conversations involving Petters and others who carried out the fraud. The affidavit alleges Petters is caught on tape, repeatedly admitting to the fraud scheme by providing false information to investors; in addition, Petters admits to cheating on his taxes. On September 29, he resigned as the head of Petters Group Worldwide.
On October 3, he was arrested at his home in Wayzata. He was denied bail
after prosecutors produced documents that alleged Petters had encouraged another person involved with the case to leave the country, that he regretted turning over his passport
, and that he had previously spoken about fleeing the country if the fraudulent scheme was discovered. The U.S. Attorney's Office
charged him with mail fraud, wire fraud
, money laundering
and obstruction of justice
.
The U.S. Attorney staff noted that the government knew nothing about the scheme until Deanna Coleman, vice president of operations for Petters Co., approached them to confess and offered to help federal authorities investigate. This led to the prosecution of Robert Dean White, who admitted to being involved in creating false bank statements and other documents that were used to trick investors in what he described as a massive Ponzi scheme
. Both individuals made plea bargain
s with federal prosecutors in exchange for information on how the scheme worked. They noted that, at the direction of Petters, Coleman and White would fabricate documents for Petters and others to use to obtain billions of dollars in loans. The phony records were used as proof that Petters Co. was buying merchandise, generally electronic goods, from two suppliers (who were named as co-defendants). Petters Co. would tell lenders that it was selling the goods through big-box store
s and provided purchase orders to substantiate the deals, but the deals were phony and the documents were fakes. Most of the money lent to PCI was secured by promissory note
s and sometimes security agreement
s; the lenders would wire the money to the two suppliers, which would pass it on to Petters Co., less a commission. As more lenders loaned to Petters Co., outstanding loans would be paid off or rolled into new loans from the same lender. Proceeds went to Petters Co. and to Petters himself, and were used to fund other Petters-owned companies, to pay others collaborating in the scheme and, according to court affidavits, for Petters' "extravagant lifestyle."
Petters' legal troubles led to Sun Country Airlines
filing for bankruptcy; the airline had been relying on an operating loan from Petters, who owned all the voting shares of Sun Country, to help the low-fare carrier pay its bills during the months of October and November 2008. With the legal troubles surrounding Petters, the airline opted to file for bankruptcy to exempt itself from the legal entanglements of Petters Group Worldwide.
The FBI Criminal Complaint identifies First Regional of Century City California as the bank that moved more than 11 billion dollars through an account for Nationwide International Resources Inc. of Los Angeles. In a separate legal filing in February 2008, more than seven months before the Petters allegations surfaced, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) had issued a cease and desist
order, which the bank consented to. The order cites First Regional for failing to comply with regulations regarding money laundering
with respect to Individual Retirement Account
s and violating rules regarding reporting suspicious activity.
During the trial, it emerged that the relationship between Petters and Coleman became "intimate" for a period of time, ending in 2006.
On December 2, 2009, Tom Petters was found guilty in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota on 20 counts of conspiracy, wire and mail fraud. In April 2010, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his part in the fraud. Five other employees have pled guilty and are awaiting sentences. Petters' associate and primary fundraiser, Frank Vennes
, has been charged with numerous counts of fraud and is awaiting trial.
. In 2009, St. John's Abbey arranged to return the $2 million gift to the court-appointed receiver for the Petters bankruptcy. In October 2007, he made a $5.3 million gift to the College of St. Benedict to create the Thomas J. Petters Center for Global Education. In 2006, he served as a co-chairman of a capital campaign at his high school, Cathedral High School, and offered to match donations up to $750,000.
In March 2004, his son, John Thomas Petters, was killed on a spring break visit to Florence
, Italy
. The student inadvertently wandered onto private property where the owner, Alfio Raugei, mistook him for an intruder and stabbed him to death. Raugei was convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay fines, court fees and damages to the Petters family. Tom Petters noted: "Despite the ruling, we believe there are no winners in this outcome." In response, Petters formed the John T. Petters Foundation to provide gifts and endowments at select universities to benefit future college students.
In September 2004, Tom Petters pledged $10 million to his late son's college, Miami University
. He promised an additional $4 million and the total was to support two professorships and the John T. Petters Center for Leadership, Ethics and Skills Development, which was designed to open as part of the new Farmer School of Business in fall 2009. While Petters did donate about $5 million of the total amount he pledged to Miami, the remainder was never received by the university, and the proposed John T. Petters Center never materialized. Funds for two professorships have been rescinded, since Petters' assets are tied up in court. Petters has resigned from two advisory positions he formerly occupied with the Farmer School. Petters was on the Board of Trustees at Rollins College
in Winter Park, Florida
, where he donated $12 million to create two new faculty chairs in International Business.
, Distinguished Humanitarian Award in 2003 by B'nai B'rith
, and noted in the Big Brothers Big Sisters
Odyssey Awards 2005.
Petters Group Worldwide
Petters Group Worldwide was a diversified company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota that was turned into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme by its founder and CEO, Tom Petters. It currently has 3,200 employees and investments or full ownership in 60 companies, of which it actively managed 20, with offices...
. Petters resigned his position as CEO on September 29, 2008, amid mounting criminal investigations. He later was convicted for turning Petters Group Worldwide into a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.
Early years
Petters was raised with six siblings in St. Cloud, MinnesotaSt. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
. He worked at the tailor, fur and fabric shop founded by his great-grandfather and operated by his family for over 100 years. In 1973, while still in high school, he started Ear Electronics, a mail-order stereo company aimed at college students. Petters completed only one quarter of college before dropping out to pursue a career. In the early 1980s, Petters worked in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
as a regional manager at an electronics store chain; when that business went bankrupt, he purchased five of its locations in Colorado and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
Petters Group Worldwide
In 1988, Petters moved back to Minnesota and founded Amicus Trading, a wholesale brokerage; the name was later changed to The Petters Company, and it marketed consumer merchandise. In 1995 he started Petters Warehouse Direct to sell closeout, overstock and bankrupt company merchandise from a store in Minnetonka, MinnesotaMinnetonka, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,301 people, 21,393 households, and 14,097 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,893.0 persons per square mile . There were 22,228 housing units at an average density of 818.9 per square mile...
, additional locations followed in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
and greater Minnesota. In 1998 he went online to sell discounted merchandise through redtag.com, operated by RedTag Inc.; by 2000 he sold his Petters Warehouse Direct stores to focus on his online business, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...
. He teamed up with direct-mail merchandise company Fingerhut
Fingerhut
Fingerhut is a catalog retailer and an online retailer.Fingerhut was founded in 1948 by William Fingerhut and his brother Manny selling automobile seat covers. In 1952, the business re-positioned itself to a mail order catalog company and diversified its goods to include towels, dishes, and tools...
Companies Inc. in 2001 to start a new online store, Redtagbiz.com, which reported sales of $1 billion per year at one point.
When Fingerhut's owner, Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
, decided to sell or close the company in 2002, Petters, teaming with former Fingerhut chairman Ted Deikel, made an offer to buy the Fingerhut name, customer list, and buildings in St. Cloud, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Minnesota
Plymouth, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 65,894 people, 24,820 households, and 17,647 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,002.0 persons per square mile . There were 25,258 housing units at an average density of 767.4 per square mile...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The purchase was made in June 2002 and all of Petters' operations moved into Fingerhut's former headquarters in Minnetonka. Deikel took over Fingerhut Direct Marketing Inc., which created the catalogs, and Petters took over Fingerhut Fulfillment, based at a St. Cloud distribution center; the new Fingerhut restarted with online and catalog sales in November 2002. In April 2003, The Petters Group, with two minority investors, purchased uBid
UBid
uBid.com manages an online auction and shopping website that offers both goods sold directly by the company and items sold by pre-approved uBid Certified Merchants.-Overview:...
. The same month, Fingerhut Direct Inc. announced it had obtained a $100 million line of credit to finance inventory and receivables. In 2003, Petters invested in former Democratic State Senator from Minnesota Ted Mondale
Ted Mondale
Theodore A. "Ted" Mondale is a politician and entrepreneur. He is the elder son of the former senator, ambassador and Vice President Walter Mondale and Joan Mondale. He is a former Minnesota state senator and is currently the CEO of Nazca Solutions, Inc...
's Nazca Solutions. Deikel sold his interest in Fingerhut in 2004.
In January 2005, Petters Group Worldwide purchased the Polaroid
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February...
brand for $426 million, with plans to use it on consumer electronics and new technologies. In 2006, Petters Group Worldwide acquired Sun Country Airlines
Sun Country Airlines
MN Airlines, LLC, operating as Sun Country Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Mendota Heights, Minnesota...
. Petters Group Worldwide became a diverse holding company with 3,200 employees and investments or full ownership in 60 companies, of which it actively managed 20. With offices in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, it had $2.3 billion in revenue in 2007.
Prosecution, conviction and sentencing
The FBI put Petters under investigation for his role in a fraud scheme involving more than $100 million in investments, with estimates ranging up to $3.65 billion. On September 24, 2008, federal investigators raided the Petters headquarters in Minnetonka and searched Tom Petters' WayzataWayzata, Minnesota
Wayzata is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Wayzata came into existence in the center of Chief Shakopee's Indian village.-Early settlement:...
home. Documents released by the FBI, IRS and other federal agencies noted that they were seeking evidence of a scheme to lure investors into funding a company based on tens of millions of dollars in purchases and sales that never occurred. The documents noted that a witness associated with Petters and his company came forward with documents and other information, and later wore a hidden microphone and recorded several conversations involving Petters and others who carried out the fraud. The affidavit alleges Petters is caught on tape, repeatedly admitting to the fraud scheme by providing false information to investors; in addition, Petters admits to cheating on his taxes. On September 29, he resigned as the head of Petters Group Worldwide.
On October 3, he was arrested at his home in Wayzata. He was denied bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
after prosecutors produced documents that alleged Petters had encouraged another person involved with the case to leave the country, that he regretted turning over his passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
, and that he had previously spoken about fleeing the country if the fraudulent scheme was discovered. The U.S. Attorney's Office
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
charged him with mail fraud, wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
and obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
.
The U.S. Attorney staff noted that the government knew nothing about the scheme until Deanna Coleman, vice president of operations for Petters Co., approached them to confess and offered to help federal authorities investigate. This led to the prosecution of Robert Dean White, who admitted to being involved in creating false bank statements and other documents that were used to trick investors in what he described as a massive Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
. Both individuals made plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
s with federal prosecutors in exchange for information on how the scheme worked. They noted that, at the direction of Petters, Coleman and White would fabricate documents for Petters and others to use to obtain billions of dollars in loans. The phony records were used as proof that Petters Co. was buying merchandise, generally electronic goods, from two suppliers (who were named as co-defendants). Petters Co. would tell lenders that it was selling the goods through big-box store
Big-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
s and provided purchase orders to substantiate the deals, but the deals were phony and the documents were fakes. Most of the money lent to PCI was secured by promissory note
Promissory note
A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...
s and sometimes security agreement
Security agreement
A security agreement, in the law of the United States, is a contract that governs the relationship between the parties to a kind of financial transaction known as a secured transaction...
s; the lenders would wire the money to the two suppliers, which would pass it on to Petters Co., less a commission. As more lenders loaned to Petters Co., outstanding loans would be paid off or rolled into new loans from the same lender. Proceeds went to Petters Co. and to Petters himself, and were used to fund other Petters-owned companies, to pay others collaborating in the scheme and, according to court affidavits, for Petters' "extravagant lifestyle."
Petters' legal troubles led to Sun Country Airlines
Sun Country Airlines
MN Airlines, LLC, operating as Sun Country Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Mendota Heights, Minnesota...
filing for bankruptcy; the airline had been relying on an operating loan from Petters, who owned all the voting shares of Sun Country, to help the low-fare carrier pay its bills during the months of October and November 2008. With the legal troubles surrounding Petters, the airline opted to file for bankruptcy to exempt itself from the legal entanglements of Petters Group Worldwide.
The FBI Criminal Complaint identifies First Regional of Century City California as the bank that moved more than 11 billion dollars through an account for Nationwide International Resources Inc. of Los Angeles. In a separate legal filing in February 2008, more than seven months before the Petters allegations surfaced, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
(FDIC) had issued a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
order, which the bank consented to. The order cites First Regional for failing to comply with regulations regarding money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
with respect to Individual Retirement Account
Individual Retirement Account
An individual retirement arrangement is the blanket term for a form of retirement plan that provides tax advantages for retirement savings in the United States...
s and violating rules regarding reporting suspicious activity.
During the trial, it emerged that the relationship between Petters and Coleman became "intimate" for a period of time, ending in 2006.
On December 2, 2009, Tom Petters was found guilty in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota on 20 counts of conspiracy, wire and mail fraud. In April 2010, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his part in the fraud. Five other employees have pled guilty and are awaiting sentences. Petters' associate and primary fundraiser, Frank Vennes
Frank Vennes
Frank Elroy Vennes Jr. is an American multimillionaire and convicted money launderer. He was the primary fundraiser for Tom Petters, who was convicted of organizing a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme in Minnesota. Vennes was previously convicted on federal charges of money laundering, illegal firearm...
, has been charged with numerous counts of fraud and is awaiting trial.
Philanthropy
Petters was appointed to the board of trustees for the College of St. Benedict in 2002; his mother had attended the school. In 2006 he gave $2 million for improvements to St. John's Abbey on the campus of adjacent Saint John's UniversityCollege of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
. In 2009, St. John's Abbey arranged to return the $2 million gift to the court-appointed receiver for the Petters bankruptcy. In October 2007, he made a $5.3 million gift to the College of St. Benedict to create the Thomas J. Petters Center for Global Education. In 2006, he served as a co-chairman of a capital campaign at his high school, Cathedral High School, and offered to match donations up to $750,000.
In March 2004, his son, John Thomas Petters, was killed on a spring break visit to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The student inadvertently wandered onto private property where the owner, Alfio Raugei, mistook him for an intruder and stabbed him to death. Raugei was convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay fines, court fees and damages to the Petters family. Tom Petters noted: "Despite the ruling, we believe there are no winners in this outcome." In response, Petters formed the John T. Petters Foundation to provide gifts and endowments at select universities to benefit future college students.
In September 2004, Tom Petters pledged $10 million to his late son's college, Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
. He promised an additional $4 million and the total was to support two professorships and the John T. Petters Center for Leadership, Ethics and Skills Development, which was designed to open as part of the new Farmer School of Business in fall 2009. While Petters did donate about $5 million of the total amount he pledged to Miami, the remainder was never received by the university, and the proposed John T. Petters Center never materialized. Funds for two professorships have been rescinded, since Petters' assets are tied up in court. Petters has resigned from two advisory positions he formerly occupied with the Farmer School. Petters was on the Board of Trustees at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
in Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, where he donated $12 million to create two new faculty chairs in International Business.
Awards
Petters was awarded "Corporate Leader of the Year" in 2001 by the Juvenile Diabetes Research FoundationJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF is the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research. Driven by volunteers connected to children, adolescents, and adults with this disease, JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of T1D research...
, Distinguished Humanitarian Award in 2003 by B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, and noted in the Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
Odyssey Awards 2005.