FX.co ★ High-profile lawsuits against billionaires

Samuel Bankman-Fried

Over the past six months, the wealth of this American billionaire has shrunk by $20 billion. However, this is not the worst thing that happened to the FTX founder. In late 2022, the empire that took him 4 years to build collapsed in a blink of an eye, and Sam Bankman-Fried faced trial. He is now accused of fraud that triggered the FTX meltdown. Although Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty, he faces a life sentence in prison.

Gary Wang

Gary Wang is Sam Bankman-Fried’s right hand as well as the co-founder and executive at the FTX cryptocurrency firm. Unlike his partner, Gary Wang has always kept a low profile. However, when the FTX scandal broke, he was caught in the middle. The former billionaire, whose fortune had been estimated at about $6 billion before the FTX collapse, was accused of fraud. He pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Despite that, Gary Wang faces imprisonment for up to 50 years.

Elizabeth Anne Holmes

In 2003, 19-year-old Elizabeth Anne Holmes established the Theranos healthcare startup. The company’s innovative equipment was supposed to become a breakthrough in the field of blood testing. Holmes managed to attract multimillion-dollar investments. However, Theranos turned out to be a dummy firm. Charges were pressed against its founder who had a whopping $4.5 billion in her bank account at that time. In late 2022, the former billionaire was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Nirav Deepak Modi

Indian businessman Nirav Deepak Modi used to be known as the "Diamond King." Many global celebrities used to wear jewelry made by his company. However, a scandal broke in 2018. India accused Nirav Deepak Modi who had almost $2 billion in his bank account of the largest banking scam in the country’s history. He was a fugitive in London for a while but failed to escape justice anyway. He is now imprisoned in the United Kingdom but may soon be extradited to India.

John Nat Kapoor

In the early 1990s, Indian-American businessman John Kapoor founded Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company involved in the production of opioids. In 2017, charges were pressed against the tycoon, whose fortune exceeded $3 billion. He was accused of illegally promoting an opioid pain reliever by bribing healthcare workers. In a few months, the court found Kapoor guilty and sentenced him to 5 years and 6 months in prison.