HealthSouth Scandal (2003)
Company: Largest publicly traded health care company in the U.S.
What happened: Earnings numbers were allegedly inflated $1.4 billion to meet stockholder expectations.
Main player: CEO Richard Scrushy.
How he did it: Allegedly told underlings to make up numbers and transactions from 1996-2003.
How he got caught: Sold $75 million in stock a day before the company posted a huge loss, triggering SEC suspicions.
Penalties: Scrushy was acquitted of all 36 counts of accounting fraud, but convicted of bribing the governor of Alabama, leading to a 7-year prison sentence.
Fun fact: Scrushy now works as a motivational speaker and maintains his innocence.