Russell Wasendorf Sr., founder and CEO of Cedar Falls-based Peregrine Financial Group, faces up to 50 years in prison under a plea deal, the Des Moines Register reports. The 64-year-old has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud, embezzling customer funds and making false statements to regulators.

A Chanhassen man has become the third person to plead guilty in a $20 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved 57 properties. Douglas Rex Butler faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of fraud.

A woman from Savage was sentenced to 60 months in prison Friday for her role in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that victimized lenders across the country. Barbara Lynnae Puro, 49, was sentenced after pleading guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Minnetonka-based Cargill Inc., one of the world's largest commodities traders, claims in a new lawsuit that it was duped in a business fraud that involves the sale of fake renewable energy credits, the Star Tribune reports. The company says it arranged to buy 1.2 million biodiesel credits from a New York broker in 2010, and learned later the credits were invalid.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Tria Moua approached the children and persuaded them to go with her into her van. It was when they got out of the van that the victims realized their jewelry was missing. Police say no children reported being harmed.