The head of an Iowa brokerage firm charged with making false statements to regulators has been arrested.
Russell Wasendorf Sr., 64, is Chief Executive Officer of Peregrine Financial Group. A report showed Peregrine had $220 million less than it claimed in customer accounts.
Wasendorf reportedly attempted suicide Monday after federal regulators froze all customer accounts at the firm.
Wasendorf was arrested by FBI agents Friday, July 13, 2012. A complaint against him alleges he made false statements to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission and inflated the value of customer funds from 2010 through July of 2012.
Wasendorf was scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Friday afternoon in Cedar Rapids.
Peregrine Financial Group filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy protection this week.
