Largest Fraud in US History?

Author

Liam Gill
January 05, 2024

Story of the Day

Enron, once a celebrated energy trading and utility company from Houston, Texas, emerged as one of American history's most notorious accounting frauds. Formed in 1986 through a merger, Enron was rebranded by CEO Kenneth Lay into an energy trader and supplier, quickly becoming a Wall Street favourite in the 1990s. By 1992, it was North America's largest natural gas provider, closely linked with political figures like George HW Bush and George W. Bush. The early 2000s marked the company's downfall, with Lay resigning as CEO, succeeded by Jeffrey Skilling, who also resigned shortly after. Lay's second tenure was brief; within five days, a whistleblower exposed massive accounting fraud, leading to a plummeting stock price and federal investigations. Enron declared a $65 billion bankruptcy, the largest at the time. Lay was convicted on ten felony counts but died of a heart attack six weeks post-conviction. After serving a 14-year sentence, Skilling is reportedly planning to start another energy company.

Tweet of the Day

If you have tweets you want to submit to be featured here (from you or someone you like), then reply to this email with a link to them!

Raise Venture Capital in 2024. Get the course helping top founders raise venture capital. The materials in this course are used by founders pitching a16z, Sequoia, YC and more while raising tens of millions! Get the course now for just $199.*

Sponsored Content

Insight of the Day

Do you believe average new car prices will rise or fall in 2024?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Are you looking to grow your business? Here is how I can help:

📢 Promote your startup to 2,000+ VCs including investors from a16z, YC, Techstars, Rarebreed, Sequoia and more.

📱 Book a Strategy Call to get 1:1 feedback on your pitch, pitch deck and/or fundraising strategy. (If you need general startup advice, then reply to this email, and I’ll let you know if/how I can help.)

📺 Access FundraiseOS, the ultimate fundraising course with video lessons and practical worksheets helping with everything from deciding how much to raise to understanding a term sheet.

💸 Promote your product or service to 100,000+ entrepreneurs.

🌐 Connect with me on LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter) to get access to new content about startups, fundraising, venture capital, and more every day.

Onwards and Upwards,