Company Frauds So Terrible You Won’t Believe They Actually Happened

Tyco Goes To Prison

Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images

Tyco International, based out of New Jersey, was one of the biggest security systems companies in 2002 when they got caught for fraudulent activity. The company’s CEO Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz were siphoning money through unapproved loans and stock sales. That money was then smuggled out of the company and paid to its executives as bonuses or benefits.

When all the damage was done, the CEO and CFO had stolen upward of $150 million, falsely inflating the company’s income as reported to investors. For their part in the crimes, Kozlowski and Swartz were given 8-25 year prison sentences. Tyco was also forced to pay back investors $2.92 billion.