HomeMy WebLinkAboutEPD_OfficerYear_Lindman
City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424
Contact: Kaylin Martin, Communications Coordinator
Phone 952-833-9537 • Fax 952-826-0389 • www.EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Crime Prevention Fund Names Dave Lindman ‘Officer of the Year’
Edina, Minn., April 4, 2013 – The Edina Crime Prevention Fund recently named Police Officer Dave
Lindman the 2013 Mike Siitari Officer of the Year for his work on an international financial fraud case dubbed
“Operation Starburst.” The award will be presented to Lindman at the April 16 City Council meeting.
“Many Edina Police Officers go above and beyond and donate a lot of time to see cases through to the end.
To be nominated for this award is a big accomplishment. But to actually have been the one selected … I don’t
know what to say … it makes me speechless,” said Lindman. “I’ve had a ‘perma-smile’ since I found out.”
Operation Starburst started locally in 2009 while Lindman was assigned to the Minnesota Financial Crimes
Task Force. Officers on the Task Force began to see a pattern in their investigations. Once they brought the
pieces of their puzzles together, they saw they were dealing with something much larger than they had initially
thought.
Lindman, who joined the Edina Police Department in 2001, said this team discovered an organized crime ring
that involved “dirty” bankers who would sell account information to criminals and millions. Since 2006, more
than 10,000 people have been victimized by king pin Julian Okeayainneh’s crime ring and, so far, more than 30
people connected with Operation Starburst are in prison.
Since the case began, Lindman and his team’s efforts have paid off. In August 2012, Okeayainneh was
sentenced to 27 years in prison, the longest punishment handed down in the United States for an identity
theft case. While Operation Starburst, a case that amounted to more than $58 million in fraudulent activity, is
no longer active, federal and local agents are still working to charge others who were involved.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Anaya wrote a letter nominating Lindman for the Officer of the Year Award,
saying, “[Lindman] is one of the finest law enforcement professionals I have met in my career. … I so enjoyed
working with him because he is exceptionally kind, courteous, always fair and humble. It is a pleasure and a
honor to work with an officer that displays an absolute commitment to protect and serve Edina, the Task
Force and justice.”
Officer Joel Moore received the Award last year for his work as a Commercial Crime Officer in the Southdale
area.
For more information on the Officer of the Year Award, contact the Edina Police Department at 952-826-
1610. Nominations for the 2014 award can be made later this year by writing to the Edina Crime Prevention
Fund; Re: Officer of the Year; 4801 W. 50th St.; Edina, MN 5424.
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