On Thursday, a U.S. judge?sentenced Russell Wasendorf, Sr, the founder of?Peregrine Financial Group, to the maximum 50-year prison term for his two decades of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from?clients and defrauding banks.
The former financial executive had also been ordered to pay $215.5 million in restitution.
Wasendorf said at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa sentencing hearing, via Bloomberg, “I’m very sorry for the financial and emotional damage I’ve caused to investors and employees of Peregrine Financial Group. I feel I fully deserve whatever sentence I am given… My guilt is such I will accept that sentence.”
This comes after Wasendorf had forged false U.S. Bank account statements for almost 20 years as he stole millions of dollars from his Peregrine customers as well in business under the name PFG Best. Wasendorf has maintained that he acted independently and that his employees did not know anything about this.?
According to the New York Times, Wasendorf hid the fraud as he was the only P.F.G. employee with access to the firm?s customer accounts held by the bank. He forged statements prior to their delivery to customers.?
Just before the discovery of his actions in July, Wasendorf had attempted suicide. He wrote in his suicide note, “With careful concealment and blunt authority, I was able to hide my fraud from others at P.F.G.?
Once his fraud had been detected, the firm quickly imploded and it sought bankruptcy protection. P.F.G.’s 24,000 former customers lost their money, which remains missing today. It is unlikely to all be returned.
Wasendorf pleaded guilty?in September?to embezzling more than $100 million but prosecutors have estimated the stolen amount is more likely in the $215 million range.
In the interim period to Thursday’s sentencing, Wasendorf was held in custody and has been ill. Doctors had found a tumor either on or near his pancreas,?reported Reuters?but whether it’s cancer hasn’t been determined.?