Webster’s dictionary defines fraud as “intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value.”
In recent years, there have been several prominent fraud cases in the news, but which of them has been the greatest?
THERANOS
An innovative medical company called Theranos said they were close to perfecting a small, portable, blood-testing device. Millions of dollars from investors poured into the company. In 2014, the company was valued at $10 billion. In 2015 the company was investigated, and it was found they had made false claims about this product. It was judged that they had misled their investors. Investors in this company lost all their money when it went bankrupt. Is this the greatest fraud? No, read on to find out more.
ENRON
Enron, a company that sold oil and natural gas, was the darling of investors. It was even voted “America’s Most Innovative Corporation” by Fortune Magazine. In 2000 Enron was trading at $90 a share. Less than a year later, the truth came out that Enron had falsely claimed a $600-million profit that year. They made this false accounting claim to bilk investors out of more of their money. By the end of the year, Enron was trading for a few cents a share before the company went bankrupt. Is this the greatest fraud case? I don’t think so! Please read on to find out more.
FTX
In May of 2019, a crypto currency exchange company called FTX was formed. The company was touted by several politicians and celebrities as a great investment. In 2022, crypto-currency took a precipitous plunge. FTX ran out of funds to pay investors. An investigation took place, and it was found the company had misappropriated $8 billion. Much of the money had gone to pay for the lavish lifestyles of its corporate officers. John Ray III, a financial expert looking into the failure of the company, said, “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” The money in this case may far exceed the money in any other fraud case, but is it the biggest fraud case ever?
No, it pales in comparison to the biggest fraud case ever — a fraud that is being perpetrated over and over again, which, if you are not careful about and if you don’t exercise due diligence about, will be committed against you. Please read on to find out about the biggest fraud ever.
THE BIGGEST FRAUD
The biggest fraud ever involves our most valuable asset — our souls. Our souls are worth more than all we could ever possess. A single person is worth more than the wealth of all the nations. Nations and all their wealth will last a limited time and then be no more, but we will last forever. Your soul, that inner part of you which cannot be seen, touched or measured, will never go out of existence.
“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” the Lord Jesus asked (Mark 8:3636For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)). The answer is nothing. The whole world doesn’t equal the value of a single person.
There is a lot of intentional perversion of truth in order to induce others to part with their opportunity for an eternity with Jesus Christ. People who go through life and never come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus will be lost forever in the darkness of hell. People in hell are there because they have bought into the fraud that they could leave God and His truth out of their lives and all would turn out right in the end. They believed the lie that they could invest themselves in the things of this life without a care for their existence to come and that such an investment might pay lasting dividends. Or perhaps they engaged in false accounting practices. Perhaps they bought into the notion that it doesn’t matter how they lived as long as they meant well. Or perhaps they thought the Word of God foolish, which clearly states that God hates sin and those who commit sin are worthy of eternal death. “The soul that sinneth it shall die.”
The main personalities that propagate all this fraud onto the unbelieving world are the Devil and his host of fallen angels. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speak[s] a lie, he speak[s] of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:4444Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)). He and his angels never cease to attempt to pervert the truth of God’s grace. In his malice, he does all he can to keep people in a state of unbelief so they end up spending eternity in hell with him.
Is there any fraud greater than the fraud being perpetrated on the unbelieving world concerning their eternal existence? I don’t think so. This will be, far and away, the greatest fraud because it affects the most people, and it will cost them an eternal destiny of suffering.
The only way to beat this fraud is to believe in the Lord Jesus. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” But if you fall for the fraudulent schemes of the father of lies, then the second part of this verse will apply to you. “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)).
Don’t be taken in by any fraudulent scheme to bilk you out of the most precious thing you have. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will share in the victory He won over sin and death at the cross. Your faith will pay everlasting dividends in the next life. You will receive the redemption of your souls which all the funds of this world couldn’t buy, but only the blood of the Savior could purchase. The Lord Jesus has done so much for each of us. Don’t let anyone or anything defraud you of the joy of the eternal life He offers!