Russell R. Wasendorf Sr. (born 1948) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of

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. Peregri ...

, also known as ''PFGBEST'', a

futures commission merchant A commodity broker is a firm or an individual who executes orders to buy or sell commodity contracts on behalf of the clients and charges them a commission. A firm or individual who trades for his own account is called a trader. Commodity contra ...

(commonly known as a

commodity broker A commodity broker is a firm or an individual who executes orders to buy or sell commodity contracts on behalf of the clients and charges them a commission. A firm or individual who trades for his own account is called a trader. Commodity contra ...

) that filed for

bankruptcy protection Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in Chicago in July 2012. He was arrested in July 2012 following a suicide attempt. In September 2012 he pleaded guilty to embezzling $215.5 million from more than 13,000 customers over the course of 20 years, among other charges. On January 31, 2013, he received a 50-year sentence for fraud.

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 suicide note admitting to embezzling from the company for nearly two decades, according to the FBI affidavit. "I have committed fraud. For this I feel constant and intense guilt," he wrote in the note, according to the affidavit. The bankruptcy filing took place after PFG was put under investigation for a shortfall of at least $200 million in customer funds. The firm was also accused by federal regulators of commingling customer and firm money. Wasendorf was arrested and charged with

making false statements Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...

to the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures contract, fut ...

(CFTC). He admitted to stealing at least $100 million from his firm, according to an FBI affidavit that accompanied the criminal complaint unsealed on July 13, 2012, the date of his arrest.Andrew Harris and Margaret Cronin Fisk,
Peregrine CEO Wasendorf’s Bail Hearing Moved To July 27
, Jul 18, 2012 On September 17, 2012, Wasendorf pleaded guilty to one count each of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

, making false statements to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and making false statements to a futures association registered under the

Commodity Exchange Act Commodity Exchange Act (ch. 545, , enacted June 15, 1936) is a federal act enacted in 1936 by the U.S. Government, with some of its provisions amending the Grain Futures Act of 1922. The Act provides federal regulation of all commodities and fu ...

. In January 2013, federal judge Linda Reade sentenced him to 50 years of imprisonment in a federal penitentiary. She also ordered him to pay $215.5 million in restitution, though she noted that PFG's customers will probably never be made whole. Wasendorf is the author or co-author of six books about trading and futures, has been an investor in the BESTDirect Online Trading platform, and in 2001 founded ' (''Stocks, Futures, Options''), an industry magazine that ceased publication in 2012. Wasendorf has engaged in charity work and won a number of awards for contributions to the community.PFGBEST website
Russell R. Wasendorf, Sr. introduction
accessed July 20, 2012
Archived
.

References

External links

Last Days - The Fall of Peregrine
''Wall Street Journal'', video 12m19s, August 13, 2012
Crooked CEO gets 50 years

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasendorf, Russell 1948 births Living people American people convicted of fraud Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government