Federal agents descended on the Minnetonka headquarters of Petters Group Worldwide on Wednesday morning and spent the entire day searching and removing material from the offices. They also searched the Wayzata home of company founder Tom Petters.
Petters is the majority owner of Sun Country Airlines and has holdings in Polaroid and numerous other businesses. The 51-year-old chief executive was away during the searches, and he declined to comment about the matter.
FBI spokesman Paul McCabe didn't specify the nature of the investigation, but indicated that the comprehensive search involved the FBI, U.S. attorney's office, IRS criminal investigative division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
By late afternoon, nearly 50 law enforcement vehicles choked the Petters headquarters parking lot. Agents began hauling boxes and other objects out the back entrance about 5 p.m., loading them into two sport-utility vehicles and the back of a pickup.
Agents completed the search late Wednesday night and returned control of the building to Petters officials.
The search warrant materials remain under seal in U.S. District Court.
A company spokeswoman said the investigation does not involve Sun Country, Polaroid, uBid, Fingerhut or Great Waters Media, the magazine group Petters recently acquired.
"The investigation pertains to one financial entity that Petters is involved with," Petters spokeswoman Andrea Miller said.
Attorneys on the scene
Prominent white-collar criminal defense attorneys Andy Luger of Greene Espel in Minneapolis and John Lundquist of Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis were seen at the Petters building during the morning raid.
"No charges have been filed. No one has been arrested," said Lundquist, who is representing Petters Co. Inc. and related entities. "Petters Co. is cooperating."
Lundquist confirmed that the focus of the investigation is Petters Co. Inc. He said the Petters Co. has "a number of operations," but he declined to describe them.
The FBI is investigating 26 firms and 1,400 individuals involved in the US financial crisis for fraud and "sub-prime lending practices". Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and AIG are among the firms being scrutinized after recently receiving federal bailouts. 

Investigators, who are cooperating with the IRS, Postal Office, and other federal offices to complete their investigation, are concerned that major corporations may have also forced or bribed ratings agencies to favor them.

The probe, which is in early stages, began eight months ago when the FBI began taking a close look at the mortgage industry and widespread irresponsible loaning practices. At least one corporation has been raided, but so far no evidence of fraud has been found.

The FBI has questioned executives of each of the firms closely, and arrested two in June. An anonymous source told The Times that the firms had been ordered to "hold all papers and e-mails under lock and key" as the FBI scours the finances of each firm. 

Many of the companies and individuals being investigated are at the center of the nationwide financial crisis and controversial bailout plans, and have been widely blamed for the country's financial crisis. The investigation has come at a time when the eyes of many in the US and around the world are turned towards the financial markets, as Congress and politicians scramble to fix the crisis while the election date looms closer. 

Officials told CNN that it would be a long time before the investigations were finished, adding a warning: "Don't expect indictments tomorrow or next week or next month".