Satyam Scandal (2009)
Company: Indian IT services and back-office accounting firm.
What happened: Falsely boosted revenue by $1.5 billion.
Main player: Founder/Chairman Ramalinga Raju.
How he did it: Falsified revenues, margins and cash balances to the tune of 50 billion rupees.
How he got caught: Admitted the fraud in a letter to the company's board of directors.
Penalties: Raju and his brother charged with breach of trust, conspiracy, cheating and falsification of records. Released after the Central Bureau of Investigation failed to file charges on time.
Fun fact: In 2011 Ramalinga Raju's wife published a book of his existentialist, free-verse poetry.