MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time in state history, a man was convicted of wage theft after a jury found that he stole more than $37,000 from five employees back in 2020.
Fredrick Newell, 59, was convicted Wednesday after a week-long bench trial in January.
“It is an important step forward in our efforts to protect workers,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated. Mr. Newell was entrusted with public funds to pay his staff for their labor on a public works project. Instead, he siphoned their money for himself.”…