Throughout the years, the United States has seen a large number of financial scandals that have rocked the business world. Many of these plans were well thought out and purposely orchestrated to gain huge profits. Other instances happened when immoral individuals took advantage of the loopholes. The common denominator in all of this equates to millions of trusting Americans now left penniless by these criminals.
Below are the five most well-known investment scams to hit the globe. As with any scam once you realize that you are caught up in one then you need to immediately contact an investment fraud attorney to allow them to start gathering all evidence as quickly as possible before the scam artists flee. ??
1. Yazoo Land Scandal??
This is the worst financial investment scam to involve the entire state by selling 35 million acres of Yazoo Land to various companies. The fixed sale price was estimated to be a half million dollars bringing it to over a penny per half acre. The majority of the Georgia legislature had been heavily bribed to pass this deal. ??
2. The Charles Ponzi Postal Scam ??
An Italian immigrant made such an impact with his fraudulent scam that it is often referred to by a similar name in today’s world. Charles Ponzi found a loophole utilizing the United States post office to gain his advantage. Back in the 1920s, letters to foreign lands were sent with reply vouchers, and the coupons were often exchanged for stamps. The stamp values of the various countries often gained a profit. Through this scam, Charles Ponzi swindled up to 250,000 dollars per day. A Pulitzer Prize was later won by the Post for its expose on the financial scheme.??
3. The Enron Scandal
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There are a number of highly publicized scandals but none have made such an impact globally as the Enron scheme. This fraudulent scam brought about its own demise and closed the curtain on Arthur Anderson. Billions of dollars were cleverly concealed and manipulated making the world believe that this energy giant was a financial success. An investigation was instigated after suspicion was raised to the company’s corporate fraud.??
4. Bernard Madoff’s Investment Scam??
A current Ponzi scheme came in 2008. Bernie Madoff was a former NASDAQ Chairman who fabricated over $64 billion in investment transactions. He was a trader on the NYSE at the time of his prosecution, but he had stopped his trading duties in the 1990s. Madoff’s son alerted the federal authorities, and he was arrested in December 2008. He was sentenced to over 150 years in prison with $170 billion in restitution.??
5. The Halliburton Scandal??
A huge scandal rocked 2003 and included the Halliburton energy giant. It also involved some well-known powerful political figures into the mud-slinging. Halliburton was accused of garnering large profits from its own supply inventory to the United States soldiers in Iraq. Some of the claims included overcharging food supplied to the troops and official bribery by passing on inflated fuel costs to the United States bases in Iraq and Kuwait. ??There will most likely be other financial schemes taking place around the world as corporate power houses, political figures and unsavory individuals wait to pounce on their next unsuspecting victims. Strong legal regulations and severe penalties may help the country out and discourage other criminals from going down the same road.
Having been a victim of a investment scam, Jeanetta Champion, contributes this article to inform readers that scam artists come after all matter of people whether individual or government. Page Perry, LLC, an Atlanta Firm, an investment fraud attorney has expertise in this area and can be of assistance in arbitration of securities and investment claims. Even though they are known nationally for representing investors, they also have a wide array of experience in areas such as employment law, insurance litigation, class action suits and government liability litigation.
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