Peregrine Financial was in the futures industry for over 20 years, until a $200 million customer shortfall came to light. Last week, their CEO of the firm was sentenced to a lengthy prison term:
Russell Wasendorf Sr., the chief executive of the now-defunct brokerage firm the Peregrine Financial Group, stole more than $215 million, money that a judge said is likely never to be recovered…
Mr. Wasendorf stole millions of dollars from his customers at Peregrine, which also did business as PFGBest, by using laser printers and software like Photoshop and Excel to make near-perfect replicas of account statements from US Bank. He duped regulators by supplying them with a false post-office box address for sending forms to the bank, which he would then intercept and send back on forged US Bank letterhead.
Mr. Wasendorf said that he acted alone, keeping his scheme from his approximately 240 employees by being the only Peregrine employee with access to customers’ accounts. No one else, including his son, Russell Wasendorf Jr., who worked at the firm, has been charged in the case.
Had the investors required Mr.Wassendorf to take the Veris Professional™ Assessment PRIOR to investing their own capital in his fund, perhaps this might have provided the needed information to avoid sending him capital. His Trust Index Score™ might have been low enough to raise sufficient concern and alarm to prevent an investor from participating in this fraud.
Now that Veris Benchmarks™ is available, what responsible investor or employer would NOT take advantage of this product to protect capital and reputation? Veris Benchmarks™ – Know Whom to Trust