ABM “Swedin” Radio Ad Fact Check

Audio Supporting Facts

We all agree that Minnesota

legislators should stand up for

middle class families.

But would politician Vern Swedin

stand up for us?

Swedin was on the board of a

company that sent American jobs

overseas.

Swedin Was a Board Member for ARCUS, LLC, a

Company That Outsources Jobs

Swedin’s LinkedIn profile listed himself as:

Advisory board member

ARCUS, LLC

Privately Held; 51-200 employees;

Outsourcing/Offshoring industry

2010 – November 2011 (1 year)

[Linkedin.com, accessed 09/25/12]

On February 8, 2011, the ARCUS website said:

Arcus offers solutions to the United

States and Latin America with the

support of its near shore contact

center located in Costa Rice.

[Arcus.net, accessed through

web.archive.org, 09/26/12]

ARCUS Posted Tips On Outsourcing.

On its blog, ARCUS CEO Doug Firestone posted

a “Top 10 Outsourcing Tips”

[arcustalent.blogspot.com, accessed

09/25/12]

And he ran five companies that

went out of business, leaving a

string of unpaid debts.

Swedin Founded or Was a Top Executive for at

Least Five Different Companies That Have

Gone Out of Business.

1. Rudder Capital Corporation: Swedin is

listed as a member of the Board of

Directors and Chief Executive Officer

on Rudder Capital Secretary of State

filings. In a 2007 filing with the

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission,

Swedin is listed as Board Chair.

[Minnesota Secretary of State Records;

PUC Document ]

2. Rudder Communications Corp: Swedin is

listed under historical contacts as

the CEO in Rudder Communications

corporate filings between 2007 and

2008. [LexisNexis]

3. Rudder Digital Inc.: Swedin is listed

under historical contacts as the CEO

in Rudder Digital Inc. corporate

filings between 2007 and 2008.

[LexisNexis]

4. URON: Swedin was the co-founder and

Chief Executive Officer. The website

no longer works and the company no

longer exists. [PUC Document ]

5. Lone Palm Properties Inc.: The

executive officer is listed as

Swedin’s current business (Swedin

Corp) address. Swedin is listed as the

CEO. The business status is inactive

and the company was dissolved in 2009.

[Minnesota Secretary of State Records]

Swedin and his companies have

hundreds of thousands of dollars in

federal liens for unpaid taxes.

Swedin Left Behind Hundreds of Thousands of

Dollars in Federal Liens.

Federal tax liens files against Rudder

Digital Inc. total $390,903.39. [Records

obtained from the Dakota County Recorders’

Office]

And nearly a million dollars in

lawsuits from unpaid lenders.

Swedin Left Behind Nearly One Million

Dollars from Unpaid Lenders.

Rudder civil judgments and liens during

Swedin’s known tenure amount to nearly a

million dollars. [Leonard, Street and

Deinard Professional Association (Plaintiff)

v. Rudder Capital Corporation and FTTH

Communications, LLC (Defendants), Complaint

Section III., State of Minnesota, County of

Dakota, District Court, First Judicial

District, Case Type: Contract, 10/01/08;

Mlaskoch Utility Construction Inc.

(Plaintiff) v. FTTH Communications, LLC and

Rudder Capital Corporation (Defendants),

Notice of Docketing of Judgment, State of

Minnesota, County of Ramsey, District Court,

Second Judicial District, Case Type:

Contract, Court File Number: 62-CV-07-3085,

1/25/08; Eagan Business Commons II, LLC

(Plaintiff) v. Rudder Capital Corporation

and Ronald E. Noden (Defendants), Notice of

Entry and Statement of Judgment, State of

Minnesota, County of Dakota, District Court,

First Judicial District, Court File Number:

19HA-CV-10-3469, 5/28/10; HLB Tautges

Redpath, Ltd. (Plaintiff) v. FTTH

Communications, LLC and Rudder Capital

Corporation (Defendants), Notice of Entry

and Docketing of Judgment, State of

Minnesota, County of Ramsey, District Court,

Second Judicial District, Case Type:

Contract, Court File Number: 62-CV-08-9748,

11/24/08]

And Swedin and his wife even filed

for personal bankruptcy.

Swedin Filed for Personal Bankruptcy.

On June 2, 1997, Darcie and Vern Swedin

filed for bankruptcy with a LeCenter address

and multiple debtors. His companies listed

are Central Construction, Genesis

Industrial, Movie Time and Grass So Green.

[Lexis-Nexis public records]

Now Swedin wants to join a

Republican Senate that mismanaged

the state budget and shut down our

government.

Republicans Used Short-Term Gimmicks to

Balance the State Budget.

On July 20, 2011, the Star Tribune wrote:

[The state budget] called for

withholding $700 million in payments to

K-12 schools, pushing the amount owed

schools to a record $2.1 billion and

selling nearly $700 million in bonds

backed by revenue from the state’s

tobacco settlement for the rest. [Star

Tribune, 07/20/11]

Minnesota Faces $1 Billion Budget Deficit.

On February 29, 2012, MN Budget Project

wrote:

…the forecast still shows a $1.1

billion deficit in FY 2014-15. If the

impact of inflation is included, the

deficit is closer to $2.2 billion. And

paying back the rest of the school

shifts would add another $2.4 billion.

[MN Budget Project, 02/29/12]

Republicans Shut Down State Government.

Governor Dayton proposed seven budget

compromises to avoid a government shutdown.

[MPR, 02/28/11; MPR, 05/16/11; MPR,

07/01/11; MPR, 07/06/11; Star Tribune,

07/12/11; MPR, 07/14/11]

On July 1, 2011, the Star Tribune wrote:

Talks imploded Thursday between DFL

Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican

legislative leaders in the final hours

before a midnight deadline and

Minnesota began a historic government

shutdown. [Star Tribune, 07/01/11]

All to give a tax break to big

corporations

Republicans Rejected a Budget Offer That

Closed Corporate Tax Loopholes.

Governor Dayton’s June 30, 2011 budget

offer, which Republicans rejected, would

have closed corporate tax loopholes to save

$303 million. [Office of the Governor,

07/01/11]

Swedin couldn’t be trusted with

American jobs or his own business

finances, so why should we trust

him with our state budget?

Vern Swedin is wrong for

Minnesota.

Paid advertisement. Independently

prepared and paid for by the

Alliance for a Better Minnesota

Action Fund.