27. Luckin Coffee
Year: 2020
Approx. Amount: $300 million*
Company / Person Involved: Luckin Coffee
Luckin Coffee, a Chinese retailer selling tea and coffee, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with lying on its accounting papers. Luckin stated a lot of incorrect information pertaining to its expenses, revenue, and operating loss. The numbers were faked in order to make investors think the company was doing really well and growing quickly.
Luckin Coffee @BreakingAsiaHQ / Twitter.com
The lie ballooned until the SEC found them out. Luckin fabricated $300 million in revenue and growth, and what’s worse is that they did so intentionally. The SEC made the company pay a $180 million fine for the deceit, which led Luckin to file for bankruptcy in 2021.