8. WorldCom Accounting Scandal
Year: 2002
Approx. Amount: $11 Billion*
Company / Person Involved: Bernard Ebbers
Over the course of the early years of his tenure as CEO of WorldCom, Bernard Ebbers helped to grow the company into one of America’s largest telecommunications companies that focuses on long-distance calls. It later came out that he managed to do so by purchasing smaller companies that didn’t, in fact, exist. Ebbers had been doctoring the books for years in order to keep up the company’s share price.
WorldCom Accounting Scandal ©Spencer Platt / Gettyimages.com
In total, $11 billion worth of fraud was committed, more than 30,000 people lost their jobs because of the revelation, and almost $180 billion was lost by investors. Among other things, in 2005, Ebbers was found guilty of conspiracy and fraud, and he was given a 25-year sentence.