Last week, a federal grand jury charged a Cottonwood man with wire fraud, money laundering, and bankruptcy fraud, according to Minnesota District Court records. 44-year-old James Anthony Kroger. Kroger works as an assistant professor at Gustavus Adolphus College. He allegedly took advantage of his position managing a real estate company, embezzling over $600,000.
Although Kroger pleaded not guilty, the court ordered his detention for mental health evaluation. The indictment, filed on April 2, claims Kroger and an unnamed partner formed a real estate venture in 2019 to invest in Texas properties sold due to unpaid taxes. Over two years, Kroger allegedly embezzled more than $690,000 and laundered the money through extravagant personal expenses, including cash withdrawals and buying gold and silver.
Kroger faces nine counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of bankruptcy fraud. A detention hearing took place where he was ordered detained for mental health assessment after Kroger’s alleged threatening writings against U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger and bizarre claims involving the FBI, fighter jets, and rabid bats.
