Allen Stanford's $7B Ponzi scheme — 110 years, 28,000 victims
Stanford Financial sold CDs that promised safe, above-market returns. It was a Ponzi scheme that took $7B from 28,000 investors in 131 countries.
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3,222 CASOS PUBLICADOS · ATUALIZADOS REGULARMENTEPat McGrath Labs was a $1B unicorn that had never built a business — Chapter 11 followed
The world's most famous makeup artist built a billion-dollar brand on artistry alone. When the founder moved on, the business underneath was never there.
Ler o casoLesara, the German 'agile retail' startup, filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after scandal
A Berlin online fashion retailer raised millions on a big-data pitch, but padded revenue by ignoring returns and collapsed in November 2018.
Ler o casoHooker Chemical buried 21,000 tons of toxic waste — then sold the land for $1
Hooker Chemical dumped 21,000 tons of toxic waste at Love Canal, sold the land to a school board, and triggered a $400M cleanup and the Superfund law.
Ler o casoHancom Group bought a jewelry company for an NFT pivot — dissolved it three years later
Hancom Group acquired Hancom Jewelry in 2021 to build a gem-based NFT platform. By 2025 the NFT market had collapsed and the company was liquidated.
Ler o casoPequignet, French watchmaker, spent itself almost bankrupt creating an in-house movement
The independent French watchmaker invested everything in its Calibre Royal movement. By 2012 it was almost bankrupt and had to be rescued by private investors.
Ler o casoLush quit Instagram and Facebook — it cost £10M and the company crept back to social
Lush shut down its Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok accounts in 2021. The CEO said it was worth losing £10M. By 2023, Lush was quietly back.
Ler o casoAvandia caused 83,000 extra heart attacks — GSK hid the data and paid $3B
GSK's diabetes drug Avandia increased heart attack risk by 30%. Estimated 83,000 extra heart attacks before the data was hidden, and GSK paid $3B to settle.
Ler o casoSans Soucis, German cosmetics brand since 1956, filed for self-administration in 2026
A 70-year-old German skincare and cosmetics brand, owned by BCG Baden-Baden, filed for insolvency in March 2026 after years of losses.
Ler o casoSephora tested Taiwan with an online-only launch — 18 months later it shut down
LVMH's Sephora launched in Taiwan as an online-only store in Oct 2021. By May 2023, the app and website were gone. It was Sephora's second Asian exit.
Ler o casoAllbirds went from $4.2B to $39M — the DTC shoe brand that never made money
Allbirds was valued at $4.2B, but never turned a profit. It sold for $39M in 2026, closing all US stores after failed expansions.
Ler o casoTaiwan's Bi-Ang faked 'Made in USA' labels on skincare for 8 years — NT$1.3B in sales
The DERM iNSTITUTE distributor switched to local manufacturing in 2015 but kept the import labels. Taipei prosecutors indicted the CEO in 2026.
Ler o casoBiogen pushed aducanumab past a 10-1 FDA panel rejection — three panelists resigned
Biogen won approval after an FDA panel voted 10-1 against aducanumab. Three panelists resigned. The drug reached 100 patients; $3.3B spent before it dropped.
Ler o casoChery sent an SUV up 999 scenic steps — it slid back into the guardrail
A Fengyun X3L commercial shoot at Tianmen Mountain ended with the SUV sliding backward, damaging a guardrail and prompting an apology.
Ler o casoChina Medical Technologies stole $400M from investors — then vanished
A Chinese medical tech firm raised $677M from investors — then its CEO stole $400M. His wife gambled $62M in Vegas. The company vanished in 2012.
Ler o casoThe Container Store organized homes but couldn't organize its own finances
The Container Store filed Chapter 11 in 2024, emerged, then sold to Bed Bath & Beyond for $150M — a fraction of its peak value.
Ler o casoCotti Coffee's square logo was meant to signal quality — customers saw confusion
Cotti replaced its round @-logo with a square design to shed its discount image. The internet called it ugly and the brand lost the narrative.
Ler o casoCrabtree & Evelyn went from 126 US stores to an online-only shell
Crabtree & Evelyn grew from a Massachusetts soap shop to 126 US stores. A 2009 Chapter 11 and two ownership changes later, the stores were gone.
Ler o casoCVC Brasil inflated profits to meet bonus targets — then the stock fell 94%
CVC Brasil manipulated accounts between 2015 and 2019 to meet EBITDA targets for executive bonuses. The CVM accused the CEO of negligence in December 2025.
Ler o casoEskom was built to power South Africa — then corruption and debt broke it
South Africa’s power utility ran up R419B in debt, lost billions to Gupta-linked corruption, and plunged the country into years of rolling blackouts.
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