The LuLaRoe MLM collapse left thousands drowning in debt, maxed-out credit cards, and shattered marriages. One mom lost $68,000 chasing the boutique-owner dream. How did colorful leggings become a financial horror story that destroyed families across America?
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Case Studies
16 posts
In-depth investigations of major financial frauds using official government documents, court records, and victim testimonies
How the LuLaRoe Collapse (a Legging MLM) Destroyed Families
Herbalife MLM Analysis: Why 99% of Distributors Lose Money
You can make $100,000 a year working from home!” they promise. Show you photos of luxury cars and beach vacations. But Herbalife’s own income disclosure tells a different story: 99% of distributors make an average of $5 per month. Before expenses. Meanwhile, they spend thousands on inventory. This is Herbalife—the $5 billion company built on recruiting, not retail.
Wells Fargo Fake Accounts: 3.5 Million Fraudulent Accounts Exposed
“Eight is great!” the sales goal at Wells Fargo. Eight products per customer. Except customers didn’t want eight accounts. So employees created them anyway. Without permission. 3.5 million fake accounts. Secret credit cards. Forged signatures. Customers charged fees they never authorized. And when whistleblowers complained? Fired. 5,300 employees eventually terminated. But the executives who created the pressure? They kept their bonuses.
Enron Accounting Fraud: How Employees Lost Their Retirement
America’s 7th largest company. “Most Innovative Company” six years running. Then one analyst asked: “How exactly are you making money?” The CEO attacked him. Three months later, Enron filed bankruptcy. $74 billion in market value vanished. 20,000 employees lost everything. Their 401(k)s were frozen while executives sold $1 billion in stock. This is Enron—the fraud that rewrote accounting rules.
WeWork Collapse: Adam Neumann’s $47 Billion Valuation Scam
$47 billion valuation. “We’re elevating the world’s consciousness,” the CEO said while walking barefoot and smoking weed. Then investors read the IPO filing. Losses of $1.9 billion annually. No path to profit. A CEO who’d sold $700 million in stock while employees got nothing. Six weeks later, the IPO was dead. The CEO was fired. And the “tech company” was revealed as an office rental business losing money on every desk.
The $9 Billion Theranos Fraud: How Elizabeth Holmes Fooled Everyone
A 19-year-old dropout promised to revolutionize blood testing with one drop from a finger prick. Investors poured in $945 million. Walgreens made her a partner. Forbes called her the youngest self-made female billionaire. Then a reporter asked one question: “Does the technology actually work?” Everything collapsed. Patients got false results. Lives were endangered. And Elizabeth Holmes is now in prison.
The $65 Billion Bernie Madoff Ponzi: A Complete Victim Analysis
For 30 years, Wall Street’s most trusted man was Wall Street’s biggest thief. $65 billion stolen from charities, retirees, celebrities, and banks. The returns were fake. The statements were lies. And when it collapsed, the architect confessed immediately: “It’s all been one big lie.” This is Bernie Madoff—the fraud that redefined betrayal.
Thodex Scam: How 400,000 Users Lost $2 Billion Overnight
April 21, 2021. Turkey’s third-largest crypto exchange shut down without warning. The 27-year-old CEO disappeared. $2 billion vanished. 400,000 users locked out. Then came the selfie from Albania: “I’m not running. I’m working.” But Interpol disagreed. This is Thodex—the audacious exit scam that shocked a nation.
QuadrigaCX Mystery: Did Gerald Cotten Take the Keys to the Grave?
A 30-year-old CEO dies suddenly in India. He was the only one who knew the passwords. $215 million trapped in cold wallets forever. Or was it? His widow got the mansion and yacht. Meanwhile, 76,000 customers lost everything. Then investigators found something strange: Most cold wallets were empty before he “died.”
Mt. Gox Hack: The First Great Crypto Exchange Collapse
850,000 Bitcoin. Gone. The world’s largest exchange. Handling 70% of all Bitcoin trades. Then one day, the CEO appeared in a video looking terrified. “We lost everything,” he said. $450 million vanished. Years later, those Bitcoin are worth $25 billion. And nobody knows who took them.
