48. L&G Financial Scam
Year: 2001-2009
Approx. Amount: $1.76 billion*
Company / Person Involved: Kazutsugi Nami
L&G K.K. cheated its consumers out of $1.76 billion. The bedding supplier, which went bankrupt in the 2000s, was caught in an investment scheme. The controversy centered around Kazutsugi Nami, who invented a quasi-currency he called “Enten.” Enten was used to attract investors, but it was not really worth anything.
L&G Financial Scam @ciAsiaTV / Facebook.com
Investors received L&G dividends in Enten instead of real money, which violated Japanese investment laws. Nami, who had built up a cult-like following with his investors, thanks to his degree that he was divinely appointed to eliminate poverty from the world, was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to eighteen years in prison for the scandal.