Tuesday, July 17, 2012

PFG CEO: 'Mean-Spirited Regulators' Made Me Do It




From the WSJ: The Wall Street Journal's Michael Rothfeld and Jacob Bunge report that Russ Wasendorf Sr., the CEO of collapsed Chicago-based futures brokerage Peregrine Financial who attempted suicide once regulators caught wind of his alleged accounting fraud, spent of most of the $200 million missing from PFG customer accounts.
 "Most of the misappropriated funds went to maintain the increasing levels of Regulatory Capital to keep [Peregrine] in business and to pay business [losses]," said the signed suicide letter, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Rothfeld and Bunge write that Wasendorf says "mean spirited" regulators led him to commit fraud. .
"I have to say I don't feel bad about deceiving the regulators," the note said. "They made the decision to be my enemy."

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