IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A disgraced Iowa businessman should be released from jail while he awaits sentencing for a “reprehensible” 20-year fraud scheme that bilked customers out of millions of dollars, a judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles ordered Peregrine Financial Group founder Russ Wasendorf Sr. released from the Linn County jail in Cedar Rapids after he pleads guilty Monday to mail fraud, embezzling customer funds, and lying to regulators. The ruling came after prosecutors released their 17-page plea agreement with the founder of the Cedar Falls-based brokerage, as well as suicide notes he left for his new wife and son.