In a gesture intended to help Peregrine Financial Group’s former clients and other creditors recover more of their funds, the National Futures Association (NFA) has returned a fine levied on the troubled brokerage in February, a spokesman for the agency said.
The $700,000 fine, part of a settlement related to charges that Peregrine did not properly monitor and report suspicious activity, was unrelated to the alleged fraud that caused the firm to fail. It was returned via wire transfer on Tuesday, and will now be available to court-appointed trustee Ira Bodenstein as he liquidates Peregrine.
Also on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Russell Wassendorf Sr., Peregrine CEO and alleged mastermind of a decades-long fraud scheme that brought down the company, has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud, making false statements to regulators and embezzling customer funds. According to the plea agreement, Wassendorf could be sentenced to up to 50 years in prison.
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