A Cedar Falls financial firm that’s under investigation by two regulatory agencies for alleged mishandling of $200-million in clients’ money is in even deeper trouble. Peregrine Financial Group of Cedar Falls has now filed for bankruptcy, but that filing will likely be held up due to a complaint filed against the company yesterday.
Peregrine on Tuesday filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a step that is usually the first on the road to a company’s liquidation. But that filing likely faces opposition from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a complaint against the Peregrine and company founder Russell Wasendorf, Senior Tuesday.
In the complaint, the CFTC seeks a restraining order to freeze Peregrine’s assets and preserve the company’s records. Peregrine’s bankruptcy filing was made in Chicago on Tuesday, and was signed by Wasendorf’s son, also named Russell. The younger Wasendorf is the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Court documents indicate that Russell Wasendorf, Senior, is currently in a coma after attempting suicide on Monday. Officials at University Hospitals in Iowa City are not releasing Wasendorf’s condition.
The National Futures Association is also looking into accounting irregularities at Peregrine, specifically an $200-million inconsistency in the company’s books.
By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls