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	<title>Observer &#187; PFGBest Fraudster Wasendorf Was SpongeBob Enthusiast</title>
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		<title>Observer &#187; PFGBest Fraudster Wasendorf Was SpongeBob Enthusiast</title>
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		<title>PFGBest Fraudster Wasendorf Was SpongeBob Enthusiast</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:29:04 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/</link>
			<dc:creator>Patrick Clark</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://observer.com/?p=252952</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/wasendorf-6/" rel="attachment wp-att-252953"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-252953 alignleft" title="Wasendorf" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/wasendorf4.jpg?w=120" alt="" width="120" height="150" /></a>Maybe a missed sign that something irregular was happening at Peregrine Financial Group? Or is this just how they roll in the metals business? From <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/19/peregrine-bankruptcy-spongebob-idUSL2E8IJ9M520120719">Reuters</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><!--more--><em>Silver SpongeBob SquarePants coins minted by a private company in New Zealand were among assets seized by FBI agents from Peregrine Financial Group after its chief confessed to nearly 20 years of fraud last week. ...A four-coin set of SpongeBob Squarepants, housed in a "distinctive" treasure chest, went for $259, according to a website that displays both the PFGBest logo and that of the New Zealand Mint. Each coin in the set shows a character from the Nickelodeon animated series and bears the inscription "IN SPONGEBOB WE TRUST."<br />
</em></p></blockquote>
<p>And from the website of PFG Precious Metals Inc.:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Currency takes on all the right angles as sea sponge, fry cook, and all-around swell guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, is immortalized on a square, legal tender bullion coin. With coins featuring three of his closest pals, the entire SpongeBob Coin Set is housed in a distinctive treasure chest. Even the Flying Dutchman wouldn’t want to keep this booty buried! </em></p></blockquote>
<p>Mr. Wasendorf, you'll recall, is the founder of Peregrine Financial Group, or PFGBest, the Iowa-based futures broker alleged to have misappropriated $200 million in client funds. Mr. Wasendorf attempted suicide earlier this month as his scheme was about to be exposed, explaining in a <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=4&amp;ved=0CHgQFjAD&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdoc%2F100027049%2FWasendorf-Complaint&amp;ei=PV8IUNrwBImJrAe60KTbAg&amp;usg=AFQjCNGh6b537IYfdGexofVPCjxGzVAKQw">note</a> that he'd perpetrated his fraud with Photoshop and a fake P.O. Box. According to one report, he lost something like $100 million in <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/13/us-pfgbest-wasendorf-romania-idUSBRE86C03Y20120713">Romanian real estate</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/spongebob-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-252955"><img class="size-full wp-image-252955 aligncenter" title="spongebob" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/spongebob.png" alt="" width="500" height="449" /></a></p>
<p>You can't make this shit up.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Currency takes on all the right angles as sea sponge, fry cook, and all-around swell guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, is immortalized on a square, legal tender bullion coin. With coins featuring three of his closest pals, the entire SpongeBob Coin Set is housed in a distinctive treasure chest. Even the Flying Dutchman wouldn’t want to keep this booty buried!</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/wasendorf-6/" rel="attachment wp-att-252953"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-252953 alignleft" title="Wasendorf" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/wasendorf4.jpg?w=120" alt="" width="120" height="150" /></a>Maybe a missed sign that something irregular was happening at Peregrine Financial Group? Or is this just how they roll in the metals business? From <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/19/peregrine-bankruptcy-spongebob-idUSL2E8IJ9M520120719">Reuters</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><!--more--><em>Silver SpongeBob SquarePants coins minted by a private company in New Zealand were among assets seized by FBI agents from Peregrine Financial Group after its chief confessed to nearly 20 years of fraud last week. ...A four-coin set of SpongeBob Squarepants, housed in a "distinctive" treasure chest, went for $259, according to a website that displays both the PFGBest logo and that of the New Zealand Mint. Each coin in the set shows a character from the Nickelodeon animated series and bears the inscription "IN SPONGEBOB WE TRUST."<br />
</em></p></blockquote>
<p>And from the website of PFG Precious Metals Inc.:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Currency takes on all the right angles as sea sponge, fry cook, and all-around swell guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, is immortalized on a square, legal tender bullion coin. With coins featuring three of his closest pals, the entire SpongeBob Coin Set is housed in a distinctive treasure chest. Even the Flying Dutchman wouldn’t want to keep this booty buried! </em></p></blockquote>
<p>Mr. Wasendorf, you'll recall, is the founder of Peregrine Financial Group, or PFGBest, the Iowa-based futures broker alleged to have misappropriated $200 million in client funds. Mr. Wasendorf attempted suicide earlier this month as his scheme was about to be exposed, explaining in a <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=4&amp;ved=0CHgQFjAD&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdoc%2F100027049%2FWasendorf-Complaint&amp;ei=PV8IUNrwBImJrAe60KTbAg&amp;usg=AFQjCNGh6b537IYfdGexofVPCjxGzVAKQw">note</a> that he'd perpetrated his fraud with Photoshop and a fake P.O. Box. According to one report, he lost something like $100 million in <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/13/us-pfgbest-wasendorf-romania-idUSBRE86C03Y20120713">Romanian real estate</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://observer.com/2012/07/pfgbest-fraudster-wasendorf-was-spongebob-enthusiast/spongebob-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-252955"><img class="size-full wp-image-252955 aligncenter" title="spongebob" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/spongebob.png" alt="" width="500" height="449" /></a></p>
<p>You can't make this shit up.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Currency takes on all the right angles as sea sponge, fry cook, and all-around swell guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, is immortalized on a square, legal tender bullion coin. With coins featuring three of his closest pals, the entire SpongeBob Coin Set is housed in a distinctive treasure chest. Even the Flying Dutchman wouldn’t want to keep this booty buried!</p>
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