Posted on 07/13/2012 6:43:23 PM PDT by STARWISE
*snip* FBI agents arrested Russell Wasendorf, Sr., 64, of Cedar Falls on Friday. Federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint charging the CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., with making false statements to regulators and released documents detailing a wide-ranging fraud scheme that apparently fooled colleagues, customers and regulators for years
*snip*
Peregrine Financial Group, which marketed itself as PFGBest with offices in Chicago, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, the same day federal regulators filed civil fraud charges alleging the firm falsely claimed a bank account contained more than $220 million when it actually had about $6 million. The money in that account belonged to customers and was supposed to be kept separate from Peregrine’s own money.
Officials from another industry regulator, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, were on site at Peregrine’s Cedar Falls offices to examine the firm Friday. The agency regulates broker-dealers that buy and sell stocks. The losses apparently are centered in the part of Peregrine that sold commodity options and futures.
An affidavit by FBI agent William Langdon, made public with the criminal complaint, says authorities found Wasendorf unresponsive Monday in his vehicle, along with a suicide note and a signed statement in which he detailed his fraud over the past 20 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
One In Four Community Banks Risks Failure In Next Three Years
Your article is about a company selling software to help community banks comply with the law.
I know 2 very fine local banks that are among the strongest financially in the nation. None of the “too big to fail” Mega Banks come anywhere close to the asset ratio and performance of those banks.
The “too big to fail” banks operate with much less stringent reserve requirements than the local or regional banks. It is the “illusion” of soundness, but is not backed up with reality.
Like the Federal Government and the illusion of soundness. Whimsical fantasy.
I have read that what Corzine did was “legal” in England and their English branch took the customers money and paid corporate liabilities.
In the US it would have been illegal on it’s face.
Does not change the fact that Corzine is one of Obozo’s top advisors.
The NCUA is like FSLIC was in 1987- so broke, they can’t do anything but put in a conservator and keep running a big broke Credit Union. Texans Credit Union ($1.6 billion) was closed in April, 2011, and a conservator was appointed. It continued to lose money after it was closed, and the feds have sunk at least %60 million in it to keep it afloat.
Thanks gentlemen....will be doing some studying.
That didn't save Nemazee... unless maybe Corzine's a bigger donor.
Ann Barnhardt is a treasure, and I trust her every word.
The ONE good thing about all of this? The big players are being exposed for the crooks they are.
You know the old saying, “Those who can...do”?
We are now seeing “those who can’t....steal.” lol
Years ago I used to work for Alaron, which PFG ultimately bought out a few years ago. Online trading was in it’s infancy and I started to go that direction, for the very reason I saw how things were going and wanted no part of it.
For banks, the FDIC posts numbers that are 3-6 months old under ‘Bank Find’ or ‘Institutional Directory’ - they don’t make it particularly easy to find, but it’s online. Pull up the condition ratios, and see if they are getting better or worse. The higher the ratio the better; while it won’t warn of fraudulent books (like the recent case in Georgia) generally if the capital numbers are in the double digits the bank should be OK. If Core is a high single digit and the others are double digit, it’s probably OK. The Credit Union folks do the same,but their numbers are even harder to find and use.
And remember, even when the FDIC fund went broke, and that happened both a few years ago and in the previous time, no one ever lost a cent of *insured* deposit.
Easier, for banks, is to find someone who will post ‘Texas Ratios’ online. If the Ratio is over 100, the bank is in trouble, if it is over 200, it’s going to need a bailout or it will likely fail.
http://www.amateur-investor.net/TexasRatio.htm
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