Quote from achilles28:
This is not incompetence.
Think about how many people it takes to run a scam like this.
1) PFG has their own internal accountants/comptrollers who deal directly with US Bank, using US Bank statements, to reconcile and compile their internal ledgers, on a weekly/bi-monthly basis. Every comptroller/CFO has signing authority for a corporation and informational access to custodial accounts and bank records. It's a joke to even suggest only Wasendorf had access to bank accounts/statements and literally handed them over to accountants, a few times a week - all doctored up - when needed. Logistically, this is impossible and totally outside normal business practices that would raise red-flags to any CPA/CFO. The reason why most people on this thread haven't clued in to this is because they have little-to-no experience in the day-to-day management of a corporation! (not that I do, just apparently a bit more than the yahoos on this thread!)
2) External auditors would verify those books and records, using source documents.
3) Regulators would verify those audits.
4) Either Wasendorf or somebody working at US Bank gave the NFA a PO BOX to send compliance documents too. Either somebody at US Bank was also in on this, or the NFA are complete retards.
5) US Bank knew PFG's account balance was well-below it's stated net capital on CFTC regulatory filings. While US Bank may not be obligated to snitch on it's customer, they sure as shit knew their balance was far below it's regulatory filing and said nothing. Consider the hypocrisy here: US Banks will drop a dime on any American who deposits or withdraws over 10 grand in cash, under suspicion of laundering or terrorism. But look the other way when 220 million in customer deposits go missing in "segregated accounts"!
5) NFA never bothered to call, fax or email US Bank directly to verify PFG's account balance.
This is fraud on a massive, massive scale. Bank statements are the backbone of any corporate ledger, and pass through the hands of no less than 10 accountants (internal/external/regulators) in a highly regulated, fair-sized broker/dealer, like PFG. Don't be fooled by the complete idiots posting on this thread. This is a complete fraud.