5 most scandalous fraud cases of 2024

What makes a fraud most scandalous?

When Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) staff get together to discuss the biggest financial crime stories of the year for inclusion in our most scandalous frauds list, we consider three factors: amount of money lost, lives affected and relevance to the anti-fraud profession. It’s that last factor — relevance to the anti-fraud profession — that’s especially significant to us. Consider the landmark cases we’re still talking about today. Enron. Theranos. 1MDB. Wirecard. They live in infamy not just for the billions in losses they caused and the havoc they wreaked on people’s lives, but also for the important anti-fraud lessons we’re still learning from them.

This year’s most scandalous frauds incurred billions in losses and deeply impacted many lives. They also focus our attention on what goes wrong when organizations eschew vital anti-fraud fundamentals. Whether it’s defrauding government regulators or failing to employ proper cybersecurity protocols, many of the cases on this year’s list spotlight the severe consequences of acting unethically or lacking solid anti-fraud controls.