“Those who engage in petty scams go to jail. Cheat big - and you will go down in history. This sad saying perfectly describes the situation with fraud in the world.
Dodgers have always existed. Human passions are a breeding ground for such people. The desire to "have a lot, quickly and without bothering" is often the first link in a chain of lies and deceit. On the other hand, a vain pursuit of fame, honor and public attention may also be the cause of fraud.
The great S. Spielberg did not disdain to make a film about the real ass of fraud, Frank Abegneil. "Catch me if you can" ("Catch me if you can") with the talented DiCaprio in the title role.
Books are written about scammers who managed to "excel especially", films are made, their names are even included in the Guinness Book of Records.
In theory, it is possible to divide fraud into several types. They can be individual, when one person works, group, if several "lovers of profit" or corporate. The machinations of large corporations not only lead to the financial ruin of thousands of people at the same time, but also to the collapse of stock exchanges, the emergence of crisis situations in entire financial industries, for example, mortgage. The total amount of modern financial crimes has reached hundreds of billions of dollars. Below we will talk about two cases of global financial cheating.
Bernard Madoff. "An impeccable reputation is the first thing a cheater needs" (Agatha Christie)
One of the most famous financial swindlers was the American Bernard Madoff. The Robber of the century calls Madoff "Forbes". For 40 years, his company Madoff Securities has brought consistently high returns to investors, and Madoff himself was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Nasdaq, which is one of the three major US stock exchanges. The victims of the fraud were not only ordinary investors, but also wealthy Americans and celebrities. The same Steven Spielberg. A large number of international funds and banks were affected. Not without real deaths. A French investor who lost $ 1.5 billion committed suicide. One of Madoff's sons was found hanged.
In total, Bernard Madoff received 150 years in prison for his machinations.
He was a witness in the case.
Lehman Brothers Bank. "The one who steals the hook from the belt is executed, and the one who steals the kingdom becomes the ruler" (Chuang Tzu)
Among the corporate scams, the case of the investment bank Lehman Brothers stands out. Its assets reached more than $ 500 billion. The company with a century and a half history was among the four world leaders in the investment business. Its offices served more than 25 thousand people. Risky operations led to the creation of a pyramid scheme in which brokers sold “inflated” securities, and interest for old investors was paid from cash receipts from new investors. In 2008, the bank filed for bankruptcy. The collapse of Lehman Brothers is considered the impetus to the financial crisis of the early 2000s, which has not been fully overcome today.
No charges were filed against the leading managers of the bank and the auditing company that audited the bank's work.
