How a Maple Grove man resold instructor-edition textbooks
In case you were looking for a local angle on a story I posted on people who illegally resell instructor-editions of textbooks, here's one from the Pioneer Press involving Joel Thomas Almgren, a businessman and failed MBA student from Maple Grove who eventually filed for bankruptcy after the gig was up.
The paper cites a document by Nancy Dreher, Minnesota's chief U.S. bankruptcy judge:
"Though Almgren initially began downloading the instructors' solutions manuals to aid with his courses, he soon saw them as a source of profit and a method to pay for his tuition," Dreher wrote in her January findings of fact, conclusions of law and order in the man's case. She noted that Almgren offered them for sale on nine websites, using at least four user names and two e-mail addresses.
In all, Almgren made about $5,000 from the books, each of which he'd sold at an average price of $200, the paper reports.
You can in the original story here about how he apparently did it -- and about his dreams of running a Fortune 500 company, his dropping out of a St. Thomas MBA program, expulsion from Augsburg College for plagiarism and dishonesty, and lies to a federal judge and police.
It's by my former colleague David Hanners, who's always a good read.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.