The Devils of American Finance - Past and Present

1963s: THE SALAD OIL SCANDAL

Anthony De Angelis was a commodities trader who also headed the Allied Crude Vegetable Oil company. After learning he could obtain loans based on the amount of salad oil he kept in inventory, De Angelis began a brazen scheme to fill ships full of water with a few feet of salad oil on top. Since oil floats on water, inspectors were fooled into believing the entire ship was full of oil.

De Angelis was convicted of fraud and conspiracy and spent seven years in prison. Corporate losses were estimated to be over $150 million – more than a billion in today's dollars. The scam destroyed two companies and caused American Express stock to fall by more than 50 percent.

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