Top 10 Faces of White-collar crime in America
Charles Ponzi was the scam that involves robbing investors by paying old investors with new investor capital, but he was the first person in America to make it work on a large scale. His success lasted only a few months in 1920.
In the mid-80s, Boesky was a big wheel on Wall Street, so many people took notice when he was arrested for Insider Trading. Though insider trading laws were already in effect, Boesky was the first person at his level of wealth ($200 Million) to be prosecuted, setting a precedent that was later seen with Martha Stewart and Sam Waksel.
Implicated by Ivan Boesky, Mike Milken plead guilty to 6 securities fraud-related charges, agreeing to pay back over $200 Million. He never admitted to insider trading, though, and was still quite wealthy when his prison sentence was over. Since then his wealth has grown and he has reinvented himself into a philanthropist.
Dubbed the Queen of Mean, real estate and hotel billionaire Leona Helmsley was convicted of Tax Evasion in 1989. She was investigated after Helsmley’s housekeeper testified that Helmsley remarked, “We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."
In 2002, Adelphia CEO John Rigas was forced to resign after being indicted for various counts of fraud. He and his sons, Timothy and Michael Rigas, had taken out several secret loans and used company money as if it were their own. Convicted in 2004, Rigas was sentenced to 15 years.
In 2001, Ken Lay was at the center of the Enron collapse as the company’s CEO. Dating back to 1989, Lay dumped most of his interests in the company even as he encouraged employees to keep investing. Indicted on 11 counts of fraud in 2004 and found guilty in 2006, Lay died on vacation in Aspen before he could be sentenced.
At the center of the U.S. largest accounting scandal to date was Bernard Ebbers, then the CEO of WorldCom. In 2005 Ebbers was convicted of fraud and conspiracy for misreporting earnings, which cost investors some $11 billion.
Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski was forced to resign in 2002, and he was convicted of 22 counts of grand larceny for $150 million worth of unauthorized bonuses he had given himself.
In 2006, Kobi Alexander was charged with various fraud charges, but he fled to Namibia before he could be tried. As of 2009, he is still fighting extradition to the U.S.
A few months into the recession that began late in 2008, Bernard Madoff revealed to his sons that his company was nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme, and they reported him to the authorities. Madoff is by far the biggest white-collar thief in American history, bilking investors of an estimated $65 billion.