In recent history, the United States has enjoyed being on the upper echelon of richest countries in the world. Because of the amount of money moving in the country, there have been countless attempts at people perpetrating financial scams to a certain degree of success. While small-time swindlers are handled by local law enforcement and are hardly noticed, there are big cases that make the news and the front pages. Here are some of America’s biggest fraud cases and financial scams. Steve Sorensen Embezzlement.
Enron
Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001 was imminent because of widespread allegations of accounting fraud which was believed to have wiped out $78 billion in stock market value. This led to the largest class action lawsuit of all time against the company and its leaders, a settlement of $7.185 billion. It also forced the government to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002. Steve Sorensen Embezzlement.
Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff holds the most lucrative fraud scheme in the history of the country. His ponzi scheme earned him over $65 billion, the largest individual fraud ever committed by a single person. His scheme was exposed only in 2008 after he’d defrauded thousands of investors during his career. He currently doing 150 years in prison. Steve Sorensen Embezzlement.
Lehman Brothers
With over $600 billion in assets, investment bank Lehman Brothers failed in 2008. It was the single largest bankruptcy in the history of banking that it helped spark the worldwide financial crisis in the late 2000s. Examiners have concluded that there were several questionable claims against top executives of the investment bank, as well as its auditor, Ernst & Young. But up to now, neither the SEC nor the DOJ have filed any charges on both parties. Steve Sorensen Embezzlement.