8 FORBES BILLIONAIRES WHO ARE IN PRISON

According to Forbes, these are the eight billionaires on their list who are either serving a jail term or are through.

1. CHEY TEY-WON
Chey Tey-Won is the Chairman of SK Group, which is South Korea’s third-leading corporation by assets. Chey Tey-Won spent 7months in prison in 2003 for accounting scam but was freed in 2008. Again in January this year, Chey Tey-Won was found guilty of fraud. Chey Tey-Won could be headed back to prison soon.
2. WONG KWONG YU

Wong Kwong Yu was one of China’s most notable and richest tycoons. He was China’s wealthiest man as at 2006. Wong Kwong Yu was arrested and sentenced in 2010 to 14 years in prison for bribery, insider trading as well as stock manipulation.
3. MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY

Mikhail Khodorkovsky is Russian and he’s worth $15 billion. He’s ranked the 15th richest man in the world and has been in prison since 2003. He was supposed to be released in 2011 but instead was found guilty again in December 2010 of misappropriating more than 200 million tons of oil and laundering the proceeds, adding 6 more years to his jail time.
4. PLATON LEBEDEV

Platon Lebedev has been in prison since 2003 alongside his business partner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. They were arrested and found guilty of fraud and tax evasion. They were scheduled for release in 2011 but were convicted again in December 2010 for embezzlement.
5. R. ALLEN STANFORD

R. Allen Stanford has been in jail since 2009. He was a billionaire financier and was found guilty of running an assessed $7 billion Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
6. RAJ RAJARATNAM

Raj Rajaratnam once ran the Galleon Group. He was charged with 14 counts of scam in what has been termed the “biggest insider trading ring of all time”. He was given an 11-year prison term and fined $10 million. Since December 2011, he has been at a federal prison in Massachusetts.
7. ALFRED TAUBMAN

Alfred Taubman is former Sotheby’s chairman. He spent 9 months in jail in 2004 for purportedly rigging art public sale. He maintained that he wasn’t guilty and published a book in 2007 outlining his journey to wealth. He has since moved on.
8. MICHAEL MILKEN

Michael Milken made his wealth in leveraged acquisitions in the 80′s, and then was imprisoned in 1989. After the government accepted to drop criminal charges against his younger brother, Lowell, Michael Milken pleaded guilty to securities scam and did 22 months in prison. Michael Milken has started a complete new life ever since and is now a renowned philanthropist.