Joseph Traxler was the CFO of Centennial Mortgage and Funding Inc. in Bloomington. He helped run an $8 million fraud by misleading banks that allowed Centennial to obtain more loans. He also hid defaults and double-funded mortgages from lenders, as well as little check kiting in order to keep the business afloat (rather than enrich himself [?]). For this hodge-podge of fraudulent activity, he was sentenced to five years in prison, which is a shame, especially since he was such a popular guy at the Minnesota School of Business in Shakopee.
Traxler joined the faculty of the Minnesota School of Business in Shakopee in January 2009 as chair of its accounting program and has taught the fraud course there three times. That year he was voted the school's top faculty member. The school kept him on even after the charges were filed last September. In January, after the guilty plea, Faculty Dean Linda VanDuzee and Campus Director Bruce Christman wrote to the court: "It would be a significant blow to our students and staff if Mr. Traxler were to leave our school."
So Traxler won't be inspiring accounting students for roughly ten semesters; that's quite a long time. Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for a qualified substitute?
