A state official says that up to 250 employees in northeastern Iowa lost their jobs following the collapse of a financial empire owned by a businessman arrested in connection with a $200 million fraud scheme.
Iowa Workforce Development spokeswoman Kerry Koonce said the agency is piecing together the economic damage caused by the sudden downfall of Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russ Wasendorf Sr., who was arrested and charged last week.
In addition to owning the Cedar Falls-based brokerage, Wasendorf owned several related entities such as an upscale restaurant, a construction company and an aircraft company.
Koonce says representatives of her agency will meet with affected employees in Waterloo on to help them apply for unemployment benefits and start the process for trying to recover missing wages and commissions.
Meanwhile, court hearing for Wasendorf has been postponed. He had been expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids on July 18 for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing.
A public defender appointed to represent him says she needs more time to prepare for the hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles agreed and entered an order delaying the hearing until July 27.
Wasendorf has been charged with lying to regulators and was arrested following a failed suicide attempt outside his firm’s headquarters in Cedar Falls. He has not yet entered a plea in the case.
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