14. The Enron Scandal (2001)
In 2001, Enron Corporation, once a leading energy company, filed for bankruptcy after revealing extensive accounting fraud. Executives used complex financial practices to hide debt and inflate profits, leading to the company’s collapse. This scandal resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and billions in shareholder value. In response, the U.S. government enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, implementing stricter regulations on financial reporting and corporate governance to prevent future corporate fraud. (history.com)
