Plymouth attorney Timothy Oliver pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal wire fraud charges that he stole $500,000 from a Mexican construction company with the promise of work on a development project for the government of Libya.
Making his first court appearance Tuesday, Oliver entered the plea during a brief hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeanne Graham. Graham allowed Oliver to remain free on an unsecured $25,000 appearance bond but ordered him to surrender his passport and not travel outside Minnesota without government approval.
Oliver was indicted on six counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury in May. A tentative trial date was set for Aug. 4 in front of Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis.
According to the charges, Oliver allegedly persuaded ARS Tectonica in 2009 to provide him with $500,000 to obtain a line of credit for a construction project in Libya.
Instead, the indictment states, Oliver spent all but $1,000 of the $500,000 for personal expenses.
Oliver also was rebuked last month by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in a consent order in which Oliver's insurance license was revoked.
The department said Oliver was "unqualified to act as a licensed insurance producer" because of a number of legal judgments and court findings against him in several lawsuits.
In a 2011 case in federal court, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank found that Oliver, a business associate and a number of real estate partnerships made "fraudulent misrepresentations" in providing collateral for a loan from a private firm. Frank awarded the firm, Meecorp Capital Markets, nearly $2.4 million.
