UMN Law Professor Indicted on Fraud Charges

Investigators say Edward Adams stole over $4 million from 2006 to 2013 even as he taught business law.

MINNEAPOLIS – Federal authorities indicted a University of Minnesota law professor on charges that he embezzled millions of dollars since 2006 from investors in companies he ran.

Edward S. Adams stole over $4.3 million from investors according to the indictment, reports the Star Tribune. He also paid more than $2.5 million into his own law firm.

WCCO reports Adams is charged with eight counts of mail fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

Federal officials allege that Adams held several positions at Apollo Diamond, Inc., and deposited money from investors into a number of bank accounts he controlled. He had told the investors the money would be used to finance the operations of Apollo.

“The defendant’s brazen theft of millions of dollars of investors’ funds over the course of several years is compounded by the fact that he holds positions of public trust as an attorney and law school faculty member,” Richard Thornton, FBI special agent in charge of the Minneapolis division told the Star Tribune.

In 2010, Apollo was on the edge of insolvency due to the embezzlement. To keep the theft from being discovered in bankruptcy litigation, Adams conned investors into converting their Apollo stock into stock in a new company, reports the Star Tribune. This company – Scio Diamond Technology Corp. – was also secretly controlled by Adams. Federal officials allege that Adams used this new company to raise about $2 million, most of which he again funneled to bank accounts which he controlled.

Adams joined the law school in 1992. His faculty page lists him as “specializing in commercial, bankruptcy, and corporate law.” He taught courses on bankruptcy, corporations, and corporate finance among other subjects. He also has written several books, including titles such as Corporate Counselor’s Business Handbook, and Bankruptcy Practice Manual.

Anders Koskinen