Amazon takes creative control of the James Bond movie franchise
Subtitles
  • Off
  • English

Archegos founder Bill Hwang could spend life in prison. Here are 5 of the biggest U.S. fraud cases — and how long they served

Archegos founder Bill Hwang could spend life in prison. Here are 5 of the biggest U.S. fraud cases — and how long they served

Each of the 10 charges against Hwang carries a maximum of 20 years in prison

We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Start Slideshow
Start Slideshow
Bill Hwang
Bill Hwang, founder of Archegos Capital Management, arrives at Manhattan Federal Court on July 9.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)

Archegos Capital Management founder and chief executive Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang could land in prison for the rest of his life on charges related to the 2021 collapse of his $36 billion private investment firm.

Advertisement

On Wednesday, a jury found Hwang guilty on 10 counts of a range of fraud charges and market manipulation ahead of the firm’s default, which lost several big Wall Street banks billions of dollars and contributed to Credit Suisse’s demise.

Patrick Halligan, the former chief financial officer of Archegos, was also convicted on three charges, including conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud.

The two, who remain free on bail, are set to appear for sentencing on October 28. Each count against them carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Click through to see how long some of the biggest U.S. fraudsters have served — or are currently serving — in prison.

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

Bernie Madoff

Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff walks out from Federal Court after a bail hearing in Manhattan in January 2009.
Photo: Hiroko Masuike (Getty Images)

Bernie Madoff was behind perhaps one of the highest-profile fraud cases in the U.S. Madoff and his company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, ran a $65 billion Ponzi scheme — the largest known of such fraud — spanning nearly two decades. He was arrested and charged with 11 counts of fraud in December 2008. Three months later, Madoff pleaded guilty to all counts, and was later sentenced to 150 years in prison and ordered to pay $170 billion in restitution to his victims.

Advertisement

In 2020, Madoff requested to be immediately released from prison based on his various medical conditions, according to the Department of Justice. He died behind bars at the age of 82 in April 2021.

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

Allen Stanford

Allen Stanford
Texas native Allen Stanford was found guilty of conducting a $7 billion Ponzi scheme in 2012.
Photo: Tom Shaw (Getty Images)

In 2012, Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison for orchestrating a more than $7 billion Ponzi scheme through his company, Stanford Financial Group. He was also ordered to pay $5.9 billion. When handing down the sentence, the presiding judge said Stanford orchestrated “one of the most egregious frauds ever presented to a trial jury in federal court.”

Advertisement

The now 74-year-old Stanford told the BBC in 2016 that he plans to clear his name — and cut his lengthy sentence short.

“I didn’t do anything wrong” he told the publication from a maximum security penitentiary in Florida. “Will I apologize? No. Mark my words... I am going to walk out the doors of this place a free man.”

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arriving for a bail hearing at Manhattan Federal Court in August 2023.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former chief executive of collapsed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March.

Advertisement

Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge also ordered a forfeiture of $11.2 billion in assets.

Judge Lewis Kaplan found that Bankman-Fried’s crimes resulted in losses to victims of more than $550 million — the maximum finding allowed under federal sentencing guidelines. Kaplan said investors lost $1.7 billion, Alameda lenders lost $1.3 billion, and FTX customers lost $8 billion.

FTX said in May that virtually all of its customers will get their money back. The company forecasts that the total value of the assets, converted to cash and made available for distribution, will be between $14.5 and $16.3 billion.

“My useful life is probably over,” Bankman-Fried said in an address to the courtroom prior to his sentencing. “It’s been over for a while now.”

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

Jeffrey Skilling

Jeffrey Skilling

Jeffrey Skilling
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling headed to the Houston federal courthouse for his sentencing hearing in October 2006.
Photo: Johnny Hanson (Getty Images)

Jeffrey Skilling helmed Enron Corporation, one of world’s biggest energy companies, in the lead up to its December 2001 collapse.

Advertisement

Despite claiming to have than $60 billion in assets, Enron declared bankruptcy after it was found to have covered up substantial debts, losses, and bad assets through obscure accounting methods and special-purpose vehicles. Thousands of people lost their jobs and investors lost billions.

In connection to Enron’s downfall, Skilling was convicted on 19 criminal counts including fraud, conspiracy, and insider trading in 2006. He was handed a 24-years prison sentence, and was ordered to pay $42 billion to be distributed to victims. Skilling ended up serving half that before his February 2019 release following several appeals.

Advertisement
Previous Slide
Next Slide

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes appeared for sentencing in November 2022 after being convicted of four counts of fraud.
Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the now-disgraced blood testing company Theranos, was sentenced to serve 11 years in connection with her 2022 fraud conviction. Sunny Balwani, Holmes’ ex-business and romantic partner, was sentenced to nearly 13 years.

Advertisement

According to the convictions, the pair knowingly misled and defrauded investors, patients, and doctors about Theranos’ at-home finger-prick blood testing kit. They overpromised the capabilities of the tech and made false statements about the company’s financial health.

Holmes reported reported to prison last May, but her sentence appears to have already been reduced by a few months.

Advertisement