Enron CEO Told Employees to Buy More Stock. "The Company Is Fundamentally Sound." It Filed for Bankruptcy 10 Weeks Later.

In an all-hands electronic town hall, Lay urged 15,000 employees to load up on Enron shares while the stock sat around $27. He even encouraged them to get their families and friends to buy in. What he didn't mention: he was simultaneously selling millions of dollars of his own shares. Ten weeks later, Enron filed for what was then the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The stock went from $90 at its peak to $0.26 at bankruptcy. Employees watched their retirement savings—62% of which were tied up in company stock—evaporate overnight. Lay was later convicted of fraud but died of a heart attack before sentencing. The conviction was vacated because he couldn't appeal from the grave. Corporate America's ultimate "do as I say, not as I do" moment.