CEO's suicide note confesses to 20-year fraud

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48177751/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/#.UAH89JGWjfI

By P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek
updated 7/13/2012

Russell Wasendorf Sr, arrested on Friday, confessed to a 20-year fraud at his now-bankrupt Iowa brokerage, saying business troubles and his "big" ego left him no choice: "So I cheated."

In the dramatic conclusion to a week-long saga that has shaken trader confidence in the trillion-dollar U.S. futures markets, authorities released parts of a detailed statement in which one of the industry's best-known veterans explained how he used little more than a rented P.O. Box, Photoshop and inkjet printers to dupe regulators in a more than $100 million scheme.

FBI agents arrested Wasendorf, 64, at the Iowa City hospital where he has been since trying to commit suicide on Monday. He was charged with making false statements to regulators, but prosecutors said they would seek more charges. He faces "decades in prison", Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan said.

In the signed statement, left along with a suicide note and released as part of the criminal complaint, Wasendorf said he began forging bank documents after the business he built from his basement risked failing without additional capital. The timeline suggests his deceit lasted almost the entire life of his brokerage.

"I was forced into a difficult decision: Should I go out of business or cheat?" he wrote.

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The prolonged nature of the fraud is sharpening criticism of regulators like the National Futures Association, the industry group that had first-line responsibility for overseeing non-exchange brokers like PFG. MF Global, by contrast, is believed to have tapped into client funds in a desperate bid to keep itself afloat during its final days.

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Wasendorf said he had sole control over the U.S. Bank accounts and could make counterfeit statements within a few hours using a combination of Photoshop, Excel spreadsheets, scanner and both laser and ink-jet printers, according to the complaint.