Kare11
Blaine man indicted on fraud charges; victims feel vindicated
The alleged scheme which federal prosecutors say netted $600k from 250 victims nationwide, was brought to light by KARE 11 Investigates in 2019
BLAINE, Minn — Between 2015 and 2020, according to federal prosecutors, at least 250 people across the United States responded to alluring job postings by Minnesota companies Watertek Marketing, Water Innovations Group, Mile High H20, and The New H20.
“I was supposed to get a base salary of $4,000 a month,” said Kevin Molway of Kansas City, Missouri.
Those companies guaranteed to pay for selling water filtration devices called the “K8.” In order to start selling, applicants needed to buy one of the units first for $5,000 with a money-back guarantee.
But time after time people told KARE 11 they paid thousands of dollars for machines that never arrived.
“Never. I never got the machine,” Molway said.
“Did you ever receive the machine?” KARE 11 asked Jay Brooks of California. “No,” he said.
“How long did it take to get your water machine?” KARE asked David Maddox. “I actually never received a water machine,” he said.
And those promised monthly salaries didn’t arrive either, leaving people like Doug Pierce from Kansas — whose son had a brain tumor — angry and embarrassed.
“I feel like I was Ponzi-schemed,” Pierce said.
They all dealt with a man with the same voice who sometimes went by Michael Brunn, sometimes David Mueller — a man with lots of excuses.
“We’re not like some, you know, company in a garage that just created a website and said, ‘Hey, send us money.’ That’s not what it is,” the voice said on one recording provided by a victim.
In fact, that’s *exactly* what federal prosecutors now say it was.
They’ve indicted Charles Fields of Blaine — the man they say is behind the voices and phony names — on five counts of wire fraud for $600 thousand of alleged theft.
“I think it’s awesome. It just shows that karma will find a way. And there is no easy quick buck,” Pierce said after hearing the news.
Back in 2019, Fields eluded KARE 11 Investigates, even canceling an interview at the 11th hour. Today, still no comment as the victims feel a sense of vindication.
“None of these people did anything wrong. They were looking for something that looked very very legitimate,” said Jerry Cibley of Massachusetts. “And this guy was as smooth as can be.”
Search warrants filed in the case indicate Fields spent the money on normal suburban family expenses as well as restaurants and vacations.
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Officials say a speeding Chevy Avalanche set off a chain reaction, eventually involving seven vehicles.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are investigating after a speeding vehicle set off a chain reaction crash near interstates 94 and 394 involving multiple vehicles, leaving one person dead and several with injuries.
The fatal incident – which involved seven vehicles – unfolded around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on the Dunwoody exit between I-94 and Lyndale Avenue. A report on the Minnesota State Patrol website says a Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling at a high rate of speed on the exit ramp when it struck several vehicles and inflicted severe damage.
The driver of the Chevy Avalanche – a 29-year-old man from St. Paul – suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The State Patrol says it appears he was under the influence of alcohol. A 20-year-old female passenger in the Avalanche was badly injured and is listed in life-threatening condition.
According to court records, the driver was previously convicted of driving with marijuana and an open bottle of alcohol in 2017, and driving carelessly in 2021.
Twelve other people were involved in the crash, including a 26-year-old Minneapolis woman who did not survive. She was listed as a passenger in a 2015 Jeep Cherokee, and her identity will be released after the medical examiner notifies the family.
Six other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including two children – one a 2-year-old boy.
It took hours to reconstruct the crash and clear the scene before the exit was reopened for Thursday morning traffic.
“All of these crashes are 100% preventable, every single time,” said Lauren Johnson with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD is currently working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on regulations that would require all new cars to come equipped with sensors that would detect and stop impaired drivers.
“The technology for these vehicles to stop impaired driving, it’s already there,” Johnson said. “We can easily have it be in vehicles, and we know that this would save 10s of 1000s of lives.”
According to a 2023 report by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, since 2020, nearly one-third of all fatal crashes were alcohol-related.
“It truly is heartbreaking because we see this happen again and again, and we are working towards a vision of no more victims,” Johnson said.
The Columbia Heights Police Department is asking for the public’s help as they search for a missing man.
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Authorities are searching for a man who hasn’t been in contact with his family in six months and is considered endangered.
According to the Columbia Heights Police Department, 62-year-old David Alan Klint, was last known to be staying in a facility in the Twin Cities area.
He isn’t known to have a car or phone, and officials say his family is concerned for his welfare as he has no similar history.
Klint is described as 5’6, 150 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is encouraged to contact police at (763) 427-1212 and reference case number 24236092.
Similar to coal, researchers believe the carbon product holds the key to minimizing human impact on air, soil and water.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota researchers are on the cutting edge of the fight against climate change.
The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) and the city of Minneapolis are using Biochar to clean up pollution from different angles.
“It’s a way to remove carbon from the atmosphere,” explains NRRI researcher Eric Singsaas.
Singsaas and his research team in Duluth are creating this black carbon product by collecting wood damaged by storms and invasive species like the Emerald Ash Borer. Then, they incinerate it in an oxygen-free environment.
The result: small black bricks that look like charcoal, but prevent a more harmful substance from being released into air.
“If you just take a piece of wood and it falls on the ground, it will naturally decay and turn back into carbon dioxide,” Singsaas said. “If you take a piece of wood and you convert it in this process of pyrolysis, into Biochar, it’s a stable form of carbon.
“It sequesters that carbon away from the atmosphere,” Singsaas said.
Once biochar is made, NRRI researchers are putting it to use against an ever-growing list of threats to the climate.
“Biochar is one potential material that can be useful for filtering contaminants from stormwater,” NRRI researcher Bridget Ulrich said.
Ulrich’s biochar work focuses on filtering E. coli bacteria out of water sources and streams before they reach Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. ”But we’re also interested in organic contaminants like pesticides and PFAS, so biochar can also act as an adsorbent for those contaminants as well,” Ulrich said.
NRRI is also experimenting with mixing biochar and concrete, attempting to make the construction material more environmentally friendly.
“It improves things like the setting time of the concrete,” Singsaas said.
On the Iron Range, Singsaas believes the steel industry could one day swap coal for biochar in carrying out the forging process. “Coal is responsible for a lot of carbon emissions from those industries,” Singsaas shared.
“The Swiss Army knife of climate tools,” said Jim Doten, Carbon Sequestration Program Manager for the city of Minneapolis while explaining the allure of Biochar.
Standing in a green cit plot known as Ventura Village, Doten explained to KARE 11’s Audrey Russo how biochar transformed an eyesore vacant lot into a flourishing community garden.
“We mix it with compost and it makes both of them work better. It’s the synergy,” Doten said. “It really helps hold the water, it helps with the drought resistance.”
Doten is no Johnny Come Lately to the promise of Biochar – He’s studied the science since 2012. With help from a $400,000 federal grant, he’ll take what he’s learned and scale it up near the University of Minnesota campus.
“What we’re doing there is we’re building a facility that will turn woodchips into biochar,” Doten told Russo.
The goal is to complete the facility by the end of the year, with biochar production beginning in early 2025. It’s a timeline that puts Minnesota ahead of the curve. “Right now, no city has this type of operation,” Doten said. “It’s a great place to be a leader and an innovator.”
Once the facility is complete, Doten says the biochar it produces will be used in Minneapolis and across the entire state.
“To help other governments around the area achieve their climate plans, their climate goals,” Doten said. “Restoration is what I see.”
“It’s not the answer, but it’s part of the answer. It’s a tool in a tool belt,“ he concluded.
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