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

Adelphia, Built From The Ground Up, Crumbles Under Its Own Weight

John Rigas was sentenced to 20 years in prison at 80 years old for his fraud scandal

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John Rigas built Adelphia Communications up from the ground up. The founder took a hefty $300 million investment and turned his company into a behemoth in the cable industry. Under the weight of running such a massive company, Rigas ultimately found himself buried in debt, and instead of working out of it, stole $100 million from his company and distributed it among his family.

For his crimes, the 80-year-old Rigas was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, because of his age, he could be released two years into his sentence if doctors determined he had less than three months to live. He was not.