Filmmaker's Trial Set To Begin Monday
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Trial for a Minnesota filmmaker charged with misusing tax credits designed to lure filmmakers to Iowa is scheduled to begin Monday in Des Moines.
Wendy Weiner Runge, of St. Louis Park, Minn., is charged with first-degree theft, three counts of fraudulent practice in the first-degree and one count of ongoing criminal conduct. Her trial is the first over allegations that she and other movie makers inflated values on applications for tax credits for the filming of a science fiction movie "The Scientist."
Runge and three other filmmakers sought tax credits to cover the costs of making the film. Charges against one of the other filmmakers were dropped. Two others pleaded guilty.
The charges followed an investigation into a tax credit program administered by the Iowa Film Office.
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