The WorldCom scam was one of the largest corporate accounting scandals in U.S. history. In the early 2000s, WorldCom, a telecommunications company, falsely inflated its profits by approximately $11 billion through fraudulent accounting practices, including misclassifying regular expenses as capital expenditures. The fraud was uncovered in 2002, leading to the company's bankruptcy—the largest at the time—and severe financial losses for investors and employees. Key executives, including CEO Bernard Ebbers, were convicted of fraud, and the scandal prompted major reforms in corporate governance, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to prevent similar financial misconduct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldCom_scandal#:~:text=The%20fraud%20was%20uncovered%20in,assets%20by%20over%20%2411%20billion.