WORLD'S BIGGEST FRAUDS

After we saw what Satyam computers was upto, its time we named the worlds biggest frauds.We have witnessed all sorts of frauds despite many rules and regulations in place.So here it is:

Charles Ponzi-The term "Ponzi scheme" is a widely known description of any scam that relies on a "pyramid" of "investors" who contribute money to a fraudulent program. He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days, or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of arbitrage. Ponzi was probably inspired by the scheme of William Millar, a Brooklyn bookkeeper who in 1899 used the same pyramid scheme to take in $1 million.



Bernard Lawrence Madoff (born April 29, 1938) is an American businessman and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange. He started the Wall street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC in 1960 and was its chairman until December 11, 2008, when he was charged with perpetrating the largest invester fraud ever committed by a single individual. FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud. On the day prior to his arrest, Madoff told senior executives at the firm, that the management and advisory segment of the business was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme".Madoff was then arrested based on a tip-off from his sons, Andrew and Mark.Five days after his arrest, Madoff's assets and those of the firm were frozen and a receiver was appointed to handle the case.According to federal charges, Madoff himself admitted that his firm has "liabilities of approximately US$50 billion.

Jérôme Kerviel is a French trader who has been charged in the January 2008 Societe Generale trading loss incident, resulting in losses valued at approximately €4.9 billion. Société Générale characterises Kerviel as a rogue trader and claims Kerviel worked these trades alone, and without its authorization.He hacked into the bank's computers to carry out his trading tricks. The French bank took a hit of 5 billion euros in one of the world's largest scams.

His total salary and bonuses amounted to less than euro 100,000. Kerviel joined SocGen after earning a masters degree in finance at a business school at Lyons in 2000.

Giancarlo Parretti is an italian financier.He formerly owned the movie studio Pathe and in 1989 took over Cannon Film Group Inc. from Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. In 1990, Parretti also bought METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER, using money borrowed from a Dutch subsidiary of Credit lyonnais and contingent on future profits financing the purchase from mogul Kirk Kerkorian.

With the financier, MGM released almost no movies (one victim being the James Bond franchise), while Parretti enjoyed a Holiwood Mogul lifestyle. He fired most of the accounting staff and appointed his 21-year-old daughter to a senior financial post. He used company money for presents to several girlfriends, including a former runner-up for Miss Universe.In 1999, he was found guilty of misuse of corporate funds and fraud and he was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison and fined 1 million francs by a Paris court.