Jul.10, 2010, 5:54 AM

Six of the seven people who earlier pleaded guilty in the Tom Petters case are to be sentenced in the next three months, U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle of St. Paul ruled Friday.

Among those soon to stand before the judge are Deanna Coleman, who first blew the whistle on the $3.6 billion Ponzi scheme, wearing a concealed recording device to help implicate Petters. Coleman also testified against Petters during his trial last year.

The government has recommended that Coleman be sentenced to a five-year term. Prosecutors this week spurned requests for the same deal from two others, Robert White and Michael Catain, who also cooperated in the investigation.

All of the co-defendants have pleaded guilty to a range of charges.

The first to be sentenced, under the judge's scheduling orders Friday, will be Gregory Bell, on Aug. 20. He is the Illinois hedge fund manager who helped Petters fool investors into believing their money was being used to buy electronics goods for resale.

Next up will be Coleman on Sept. 2, followed by Petters Group Worldwide accountant James Wehmhoff, on Sept. 7 for tax violations. Also scheduled that month are Larry Reynolds, a Las Vegas business associate of Petters, on Sept. 14 for money-laundering conspiracy, and White, the consultant who helped Petters forge financial records. He goes before the judge Sept. 15.

Harold Katz, an accountant for Bell, is scheduled to be the last one sentenced, on Sept. 28.

Petters was sentenced in April to 50 years in prison for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. He has appealed his conviction and sentence.

No date was set for Catain's sentencing, though the judge has indicated it would happen soon.