2nd Minnesota man sentenced for North Dakota stock scheme

Published 3:08 pm Monday, December 24, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS — A second Minnesota man has been sentenced for his role in a stock manipulation scheme involving a business in the North Dakota oil patch.

A federal judge said 50-year-old Douglas Hoskins must serve two years in prison. He was convicted of several charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Authorities said Hoskins was a friend of Ryan Gilbertson, who earlier this month was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud. He was fined $2 million and ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution.

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Gilbertson founded Wayzata-based Dakota Plains Holdings, which owned a North Dakota facility that loaded oil onto rail cars.

Prosecutors say Gilbertson manipulated the company’s stock after it went public in a complex scheme that netted him millions. Hoskins made about $125,000 from stock sales.