FBI raids on the Iowa offices of Peregrine Financial Group have uncovered a trove of special-edition SpongeBob Squarepants silver coins amongst the assets of the failed futures brokerage.
The downfall of Peregrine Financial Group reached a tragic low point last week with the botched suicide attempt of disgraced CEO Russell Wasendorf, who confessed in a suicide note to 20 years of fraud involving $100 million.
According to the Atlantic aside from the doctoring of bank statements another one of Wasendorf’s more idiosyncratic business activities was the minting and sale of novelty collectors’ coins.
The FBI reportedly netted a large volume of Spongebob silver bullion during raids of Peregine’s headquarters in Cedar Falls Iowa. The coins were minted by a private firm in New Zealand, although agents have thus far remained mum on the precise number of coins they seized.
A visit to the website Spongebobcoins reveals that the coins are truly a collector’s delight, and should appeal to silver bullion enthusiasts as much as stalwart Spongebob Squarepants fans.
Each set is priced at $259, contains coins stamped with the likenesses of main characters from the popular children’s television show, and comes packaged in a thematically apt treasure chest.
The website for the products bears the logos of both PFGBest and the New Zealand Mint in prominent positions. The mint has since informed reporters that PFG paid in full for the novelty coins, prior to the company’s unseemly demise.