A federal judge has sentenced 64- year- old Russell Wasendorf, Sr. to 50 years in prison. Last July, following an attempted suicide, Wasendorf admitted to stealing more than 215 million dollars in customer funds from his Cedar Falls brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group.
In a plea agreement in September, he pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud, embezzlement and making false statements. 50 years is the maximum punishment for those offenses. There is no parole in the federal court system. He was sentenced by Chief Judge Linda Reade.
Prior to sentencing, former U.S. Congressman Dave Nagle of Waterloo testified on Wasendorf's behalf and urged Reade to consider Wasendorf's positive attributes, including the numerous charitable contributions he made.
