20 Notable CEO Scandals in American Business History

Disney ousted Chapek in late 2022 after contentious public disputes and widening streaming division losses, bringing back former chief Bob Iger.

Moonves resigned as CBS chief executive in 2018 following multiple investigative reports detailing allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation.

Calhoun announced his departure from Boeing following repeated manufacturing crises and federal investigations into quality control and passenger safety standards.

After raising the price of life-saving Daraprim by thousands of percent, Shkreli was convicted of federal securities fraud connected to his hedge funds.

Staley resigned from Barclays in 2021 after British regulators investigated how he characterized his historical relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Stumpf was barred from the banking industry and fined after high-pressure sales quotas led employees to open millions of bogus checking and credit accounts.

Mozilo built Countrywide into the nation's largest mortgage lender through high-risk lending practices, later paying a then-record SEC settlement penalty.

Fuld steered Lehman aggressively into subprime real estate assets, culminating in the September 2008 collapse that triggered a global financial panic.

Schnatter resigned in 2018 after reports surfaced that he used a racial slur during a media training conference call, prompting the chain to rebrand.

Stewart served five months in prison following a 2004 conviction for conspiracy and obstruction related to selling ImClone stock just before an FDA rejection.

Kozlowski became a public symbol of corporate excess after being convicted in 2005 for taking unauthorized bonuses and company funds for lavish personal spending.

WorldCom improperly capitalized billions in operating expenses. Ebbers was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy, drawing a 25-year prison term.

Enron collapsed in 2001 after accounting schemes unraveled, wiping out thousands of employee retirement accounts and prompting the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Krzanich resigned after Intel learned of a past consensual relationship with an employee, breaching company rules applying to all management staff.

Hurd resigned from HP following an investigation into conduct claims that uncovered inaccurate business expense reports connected to a marketing contractor.

Neumann oversaw rapid expansion fueled by billions in venture backing, but disclosures of corporate governance conflicts forced his departure before the company filed for bankruptcy.

Kalanick stepped down following investor pressure over workplace culture issues, intellectual property disputes, and the use of Greyball software to dodge regulators.

Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven federal fraud counts in 2023 after FTX collapsed, exposing an eight-billion-dollar shortfall in customer funds.

Holmes claimed Theranos devices could run hundreds of clinical tests from a single finger prick. The claims proved false, leading to a 2022 federal fraud conviction.

In November 2026, Jensen Huang resigned abruptly from Nvidia following disclosures regarding personal relationships and a federal inquiry into chip export compliance.