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Peregrine Financial CEO Wasendorf signs plea agreement


    CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - Russell Wasendorf Sr., the futures brokerage CEO accused of stealing more than $200 million from his customers and lying to regulators to cover his tracks, has signed a plea agreement in the criminal case against him.

    The disclosure of the plea agreement was made in a court hearing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday.

    Wasendorf attempted suicide on July 9 near the headquarters of his Cedar Falls, Iowa firm, Peregrine Financial Group, and left a signed confession of his years-long fraud. Peregrine Financial filed for bankruptcy protection the next day.

    Wasendorf was arrested on July 13 and indicted on 31 counts of lying to regulators a month later. He entered a not guilty plea, and has been held at Linn County Jail in Iowa since his arrest.

    He has been cooperating with the bankruptcy court receiver and law enforcement, the receiver said in a court filing on Monday.

    (Reporting by Ryan Schlader in Cedar Rapids; writing by Ann Saphir)