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Peregrine Financial Group
Peregrine Financial Group Inc., commonly known as PFGBest, was an Iowa-based financial firm that operated for over 20 years. It was shut down in July 2012 after it was put under investigation for a $200 million shortfall in customer funds. Peregrine’s chief executive, Russell R. Wasendorf Sr., was arrested and charged with making false statements to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The firm filed for bankruptcy on July 10, while listing more than $500 million in assets and over $100 million in liabilities.Harris, AndrewPeregrine’s Wasendorf Sued for Mixing Firm, Client Funds ''Bloomberg News'', July 16, 2012. Company history During the mid to late-1990s, Peregrine Financial Group's office at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange had closed-circuit security cameras on the sales floor which is not and was not a common practice in the Chicago futures brokerage community while also recording all broker telephone lines. Embezzlement of customer funds Wasendorf attempte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Wasendorf
Russell R. Wasendorf Sr. (born 1948) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Peregrine Financial Group, also known as ''PFGBEST'', a futures commission merchant (commonly known as a commodity broker) that filed for bankruptcy protection in Chicago in July 2012. He was arrested in July 2012 following a suicide attempt. In September he pleaded guilty to embezzling $215.5 million from more than 13,000 customers over the course of 20 years. On January 31, 2013, he received a 50-year sentence for fraud, effectively a life sentence. Career Wasendorf established Wasendorf & Son Inc. in 1980, renamed it Peregrine Financial Group (PFG) 10 years later and opened a Chicago office, according to the company website. On July 9, 2012, the same day that the National Futures Association reported that PFG appeared to be missing at least $200 million in customer funds, Wasendorf attempted to commit suicide by asphyxiation outside company headquarters. Before doing so he left a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), ''et seq.'', prohibits fraudulent conduct in the trading of futures, swaps, and other derivatives. The stated mission of the CFTC is to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of the U.S. derivatives markets through sound regulation. After the financial crisis of 2007–08 and since 2010 with the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFTC has been transitioning to bring more transparency and sound regulation to the multitrillion dollar swaps market. History Futures contracts for agricultural commodities have been traded in the U.S. for more than 150 years and have been under federal regulation since the 1920s. The Grain Futures Act of 1922 set the basic authority and was changed by the Commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Futures Association
The National Futures Association (NFA) is the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for the U.S. derivatives industry, including on-exchange traded futures, retail off-exchange foreign currency (forex) and OTC derivatives ( swaps). NFA is headquartered in Chicago and maintains an office in New York City. NFA is a non-profit, independent regulatory organization. NFA does not operate any markets and is not a trade association. NFA is financed from membership dues and assessment fees, and membership is mandatory for many market participants. History The National Futures Association (NFA) was created by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. The Commodity Exchange Act ... (CFTC) in September 1981 and began regulatory operations in 1982. Responsibilities NFA chief ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MarketWatch
MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and '' Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. History The company was conceived as DBC Online by Data Broadcasting Corp. in the fall of 1995. The marketwatch.com domain name was registered on July 30, 1997. The website launched on October 30, 1997, as a 50/50 joint venture between DBC and CBS News run by Larry Kramer and with Thom Calandra as editor-in-chief. In 1999, the company hired David Callaway and in 2003, Callaway became editor-in-chief. In January 1999, during the dot-com bubble, the company became a public company via an initial public offering. After pricing at $17 per share, the stock traded as high as $130 per share on its first day of trading, giving it a market capitalization of over $1 billion despite only $7 million in annual revenues. In June 2000, the company formed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It is a part of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City region of Eastern Iowa, which includes Linn, Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 137,710. The estimated population of the three-county Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the nearby cities of Marion and Hiawatha, was 255,452 in 2008. Cedar Rapids is an economic hub of the state, located at the core of the Interstate 380 corridor. The Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is also a part of a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) with the Iowa City MSA. A flourishing center for arts and culture in Eastern Iowa, the city is home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the National Czech & Slov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 by brothers-in-law William Sturgis and Erasmus D. Adams. Initially, the city was named Sturgis Falls. The city was called Sturgis Falls until it was merged with Cedar City (another city on the other side of the Cedar River), creating Cedar Falls. The city's founders are honored each year with a week long community-wide celebration named in their honor – the Sturgis Falls Celebration. Because of the availability of water power, Cedar Falls developed as a milling and industrial center prior to the Civil War. The establishment of the Civil War Soldiers' Orphans Home in Cedar Falls changed the direction in which the city developed when, following the war, it became the first building on the campus of the Iowa State Normal School (now the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knack
The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, " My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the 9 Mile/Greenfield area. The brother of attorney Geoffrey Fieger (later known for representing Jack Kevorkian in a series of assisted suicide cases) Fieger had previously played in an eclectic rock band called Sky as well as the Sunset Bombers. Although Sky had received a modest amount of acclaim, including being produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, the band broke up without having any chart success. As a result, Fieger made the decision to move to Los Angeles and start another band. Shortly after arriving in L.A., Fieger met Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals and keyboards), and the two started a songwriting partnership. Fieger had also known Bruce Gary ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Sharona
"My Sharona" () is the debut single by the Knack. The song was written by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger, and it was released in 1979 from their debut album, '' Get the Knack''. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, where it remained for six weeks, and was number one on ''Billboard''s 1979 Top Pop Singles year-end chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing 500,000 copies sold, and was Capitol Records' fastest gold status debut single since the Beatles' " I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964. It has since gone on to sell more than 10 million copies as of 2010. Inspiration When Doug Fieger was 25 years old, he met 17-year-old Sharona Alperin, who inspired a two-month-long run of songwriting, as well as eventually becoming his girlfriend for the next four years. Fieger recounted that "It was like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat; I fell in love with her instantly. And when that happened, it s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Greed
''American Greed'' (also known as ''American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals'' and as ''American Greed: Scams, Schemes and Broken Dreams'') is an American documentary television series on CNBC. The series focuses on cases of Ponzi schemes, embezzlement and other white collar crimes and features interviews with police investigators, fraud victims and sometimes fraudsters. It was initially created by Mark Hoffman, the President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Directors of CNBC, and it is produced by Bill Kurtis' Kurtis Productions. The program is narrated by Stacy Keach Jr., who was recruited because Kurtis himself was unavailable for that purpose. It premiered on June 21, 2007. Subjects The business-reality program focuses on the stories behind high-profile corporate and white-collar crimes, betrayals, and scams in American history, including the financial scandals involving WorldCom, HealthSouth, Tyco International, and CyberNET. Besides these high-p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fraud In The United States
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. Internal fraud, also known as "insider fraud", is fraud committed or attempted by someone within an organisation such as an employee. A hoax is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Scandals
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of financial economics bridges the two). Finance activities take place in financial systems at various scopes, thus the field can be roughly divided into personal, corporate, and public finance. In a financial system, assets are bought, sold, or traded as financial instruments, such as currencies, loans, bonds, shares, stocks, options, futures, etc. Assets can also be banked, invested, and insured to maximize value and minimize loss. In practice, risks are always present in any financial action and entities. A broad range of subfields within finance exist due to its wide scope. Asset, money, risk and investment management aim to maximize value and minimize volatility. Financial analysis is viability, stability, and profitability assessme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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