Econintersect: Dan Berman has an article at AdvisorOne entitled “5 of History’s Brazen Crooks Who Defrauded Markets.” The list does not include 
nineteenth century Robber Barons, such as Jay Gould, Daniel Drew or James Fisk, and names that should be familiar from the last hundred years such as Charles Ponzi, Ivar Kreuger, Nick Leeson, Bernard Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski or Bernie Madoff. It also does not mention the current LIBOR scandal which is being called by some the largest financial fraud in history. All of the above, and many more not mentioned, are undeniably candidates for the Financial Fraudster Hall of Fame. Cartoon courtesy of Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com.
Here is Berman’s list:
5. Alves dos Reis
4. William and Nelson Hunt
3. Yasuo Hamanaka
2. Kenneth Lay
1. Charles Keating
Don’t recognize some of the names? They definitely belong in the Financial Fraudster Hall of Fame, along with the others that I have mentioned. The only debate is whether Berman’s citations are the top five or not.
Read the details at AdvisorOne.
Sources:
- 5 of History’s Brazen Crooks Who Defrauded Markets (Dan Berman, AdvisorOne, 11 July 2012)
- Libor Scandal Could Turn ‘Ugly’ As U.S. Cities Begin to Sue (Mark Gongloff, Huffington Post, 11 July 2012)
- The Biggest Financial Scam in World History (Washington’s Blog, 05 July 2012)
- The LIBOR Mess Could Be the Largest Financial Fraud in History (Robert J. Shapiro, Sonecon, 11 July 2012)
- The biggest financial fraud in history receives scant media attention (Doug Hagmann, Canada Free Press, 10 July 2012)
- History of Fraud in America (Robert Jensen, ongoing project)
