Brokerage defaulted on Iowa jobs deal

Brokerage defaulted on Iowa jobs deal

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Even before its collapse last week, an Iowa-based brokerage implicated in a fraud scandal had defaulted on a $1.2 million state incentives package that helped build a state-of-the-art headquarters in 2009.

Records obtained by The Associated Press show the Iowa Economic Development Authority told Peregrine Financial Group, Inc., in March that it had to repay a $175,000 forgivable loan, plus penalties totaling $13,376 for violating its contract.

The contract specified Peregrine would add 74 jobs at an hourly wage of $19.74, but only 25 met that threshold.

Iowa awarded the incentives when the firm moved from Chicago to a $24 million headquarters in Cedar Falls that features a gym, a daycare and a restaurant. But the state hadn’t collected its money before the firm filed for bankruptcy last week.