Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.
💹 Frauds
Bernie Madoff
2008 · Convicted
Bernard L. Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 to the largest Ponzi scheme then recorded in U.S. court, after his New York investment business collapsed in December 2008.
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💹 Frauds
Enron scandal
2001 · Convicted
Enron's December 2001 bankruptcy exposed off-balance-sheet vehicles and mark-to-market abuse; prosecutions and the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act followed.
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💹 Frauds
Theranos
2015 · Convicted
Theranos promised laboratory results from a finger-stick. After 2015 reporting and a 2022 federal verdict, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud against investors.
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💹 Frauds
Charles Ponzi
1920 · Convicted
Charles Ponzi's 1920 Boston collapse, built on promised profits from postal reply coupons, gave the English language its name for paying earlier investors with later ones.
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💹 Frauds
FTX collapse
2022 · Convicted
FTX collapsed in November 2022. A Manhattan jury convicted Sam Bankman-Fried in 2023 of fraud; in 2024 the court imposed a 25-year sentence.
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💹 Frauds
1MDB scandal
2015 · Convicted
1Malaysia Development Berhad became a global kleptocracy case after 2015 reporting. U.S. and Malaysian courts later recorded convictions, pleas, and multi-billion-dollar recoveries.
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