Equity skimmer admits to crimes

When Timothy Beliveau appeared in federal court Tuesday to plead guilty to money laundering and tax evasion charges, he didn't mention the people who allegedly lost their home equity in his "foreclosure rescue" plan, or the Northwest Airlines pilots who unwittingly helped fund the fraud scheme.

Instead, Beliveau, 42, explained to U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum that he had laundered money by commingling his investors' money with his own, and then using the money to buy luxuries for himself.

Specifically, he admitted to writing a check on April 1, 2005, for $183,082.58 to buy himself a Wellcraft Excalibur boat.

Rosenbaum corrected him, saying he did more than commingle funds. He took the investors' money and converted it for his own use. Beliveau admitted that was true.

Six pilots and one flight attendant told the Star Tribune in 2007 that they had sunk more than $1.5 million into two of the Mound man's real estate ventures. Some took out second mortgages on their homes and raided savings for the cash, hoping to offset pending salary cuts. They said they believed their money would be used to help people who were struggling to keep paying for their homes.

People like Telsche Paulson, 87, who was trying to hang on to her Minneapolis duplex after her husband died and her downstairs tenants moved out.

Beliveau's company sent her a letter offering to save her home from foreclosure. One of the investors bought the property and sold it to one of Beliveau's relatives. But Paulson ultimately lost her home and moved to Farmington. She received $116,972 from a state fund for victims of unscrupulous real estate professionals.

Borrowing from taxpayers

Beliveau's plea agreement says the fraud he committed resulted in losses of $2.46 million for more than 50 victims.

But he didn't need to talk about such things at the hearing because in exchange for his pleading guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of tax evasion, the government agreed to drop a conspiracy charge, two counts of mail fraud and eight more counts of tax evasion.

As for the tax evasion charge he was admitting to, Beliveau said he diverted money from payroll taxes to pay employees at his wholly owned mortgage brokerage company, American Alliance Mortgage Group, to try to keep the business afloat. The plea agreement says he failed to pay $102,345.39 he had withheld in the second quarter of 2004. Total tax losses were put at $901,986.

Rosenbaum chided Beliveau for taking an unauthorized, no-interest loan from taxpayers.

The advisory sentencing guidelines suggest a prison term of 63 to 87 months followed by supervised release for 2 to 3 years, and a possible fine of $10,000 to $125,000. Beliveau also must pay restitution that has not yet been determined.

Dan Browning • 612-673-4493