Former Football Player Arrested for Theft

A recent incident has come to light involving a former Dakota State football player, William Fratalon, who allegedly stole a bag containing various valuable items, including a Rolex watch valued at $228,000, from a boat on July 4th.

The 20-year-old is facing charges related to felony theft in connection with this event. According to a complaint filed on August 27, Fratalon reportedly took a bag from a boat parked outside Maynard’s restaurant on Lake Minnetonka. Besides the Rolex, other items in the bag included cologne worth $400, cash estimated between $5,000 and $10,000, and clothing valued at around $25,000.

A witness, referred to as “Ib,” stated that he was on a friend’s boat at the time and had kept his belongings secured in a cabin while dining at the restaurant. When Ib returned, he discovered the bag was missing, and he spotted Fratalon carrying it. The restaurant staff later escorted Fratalon out for violating bag policies, as detailed in the report.

Further communications revealed that another guest reached out to Fratalon regarding the missing bag. In response, Fratalon seemed to suggest that his parents would cover the contents’ value with a check. Law enforcement later retrieved the bag from his residence, although the Rolex was not among the items returned.

While the victim chose to remain anonymous, he did share a text message exchange regarding the incident, in which he highlighted the opportunity for Fratalon to return the bag without any issue. The message read, “We can do this in one of two ways. You can get your bag back without any hard feelings, or you can proceed with the police report.” Fratalon, however, insisted that he had not taken anyone’s belongings aside from his own.

The search warrant affidavit indicates that Fratalon might have committed another act of theft simultaneously. During the police search of his home, they found four additional Rolex watches along with identification cards belonging to both men involved.

Following the incident, Fratalon was dismissed from the North Dakota State football team and is reportedly not allowed to rejoin. He had previously transferred from Northern Iowa but did not participate in any games last season.

In a separate incident in 2024, Fratalon was involved in a fight with teammates, during which a gun was reportedly discharged into a house, although he was not charged in that case.

According to recent reports, Fratalon is scheduled to appear in court on September 11 regarding the felony theft charge.