by Michael Covel
Daily Reckoning
Remember Enron? You probably saw the documentary. A bunch of crooks at what was then one of the largest firms in the world.
The firm used creative accounting and outright fraud to hide huge debts and heavy losses on its trading businesses.
Once the scam became evident in 2001, Enron quickly went from being one of the largest corporations in America to being one of the biggest debacles in history.
More than 20,000 employees were thrown out on the streets. The stock dropped from $90 to $0. More than $60 billion in shareholder value vanished. Poof, gone!