With Minnesota businessman Tom Petters planning to appeal his conviction in a $3.5 billion fraud scheme, the legal battles over his future and how to compensate fraud victims will likely drag on for years. Petters’ defense team said Thursday it plans to appeal his conviction on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Defense attorney Jon Hopeman says the fight is "far from over."

Federal prosecutors won’t predict how much victims of the fraud might get some day, but they say it won’t be a significant portion of their losses. A court-appointed receiver has recovered close to $200 million dollars in assets from Petters and other defendants so far.