Marion Native Wasendorf's Estate Sold as He Begins 50-Year Sentence

A retired couple from Iowa has purchased Russell Wasendorf Sr.'s Cedar Falls estate.

Ken and Linda Alberts have purchased the Peregrine Financial Group founder's former home. The 3,753,-square-foot house sits of 20 acres of land just north of town and includes a wine cellar, carriage house, woodworking shop and indoor pool with a retractable glass-paneled roof.

Wasendorf, who grew up in Marion, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison on charges he embezzled $215 million of his customer's money and lied to authorities for 20 years while he was CEO of the Cedar Falls-based international brokerage firm.

The property was originally listed at $750,000, and the couple paid close to the reduced asking price of $595,000, KWWL reported.

According to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Ken Alberts worked for 30 years at Cedar Falls Utilities before moving to Rochelle, Ill., in 1998. Now he and his wife wanted to move back to Cedar Falls, and Wasendorf's property caught their eye.

Another of Wasendorf's properties, the once popular Main Street Cedar Falls restaurant myVerona, is also on the market, and bidding has begun.

The building was listed in October for $995,000. An initial bid from an undisclosed party has come in at $675,000. Bidding remains open until noon on Feb. 25.