Epic cheating scandals
Epic cheating scandals are not only reserved for the world of sports. They can involve doctors, taxi drivers, even prestigious universities; and their scope can be astounding.
23-year-old Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, who won the crown at 2015's Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International Pageant, is accused of faking cancer so she could pocket more than $14,000 in donations. She allegedly told family, friends and well-wishers that she needed the money to pay for leukemia treatments, even shaving her head and visiting various hospitals to keep up the ruse. Weaver-Gates is now charged with theft by deception and the receipt of stolen property. She has traded in her sash and crown for a set of handcuffs.
Paige Laurie - dishonest heiress
In 2005, Walmart heiress Paige Laurie returned her diploma to her onetime alma mater, the University of Southern California.
Laurie returned the document after a former roommate, Elena Martinez, told the media that she had written term papers for Laurie for more than three years.
Lance Armstrong: the dopest cyclist
After years of rumors and accusations, Lance Armstrong admitted that he owed all of his Tour de France wins to performance-enhancing drugs. He was stripped of his titles in 2012 and received a lifetime ban from the sport.
Armstrong's confession places him in the same league as other tainted athletes, such as Ivan Basso, who copped to attempted doping years earlier.
Oncologist misdiagnoses for money
Dr. Farid Fata, a Detroit-area cancer specialist, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for telling 550 patients that they had cancer, when they didn't. He reportedly collected millions of dollars from insurance companies for prescribing these otherwise perfectly healthy people with excessive chemotherapy. In doing so, he wrecked hundreds of people's health, leaving them with brittle bones and fried organs because of his own greed.
Tom Brady - #DeflateGate
The New England Patriots were hit hard in May 2015 for intentionally deflating the footballs their team used in the 2015 AFC Championship. To make matters worse, Tom Brady destroyed his cellphone shortly after investigators requested access to its content.
DeflateGate will cost the New England Patriots $1 million, two forfeited draft picks and their star quarterback for the first four games of the season.
Site for marital affairs hacked
In July 2015, a group called the "Impact Team" hacked into the dating website Ashley Madison and stole troves of user data. Ashley Madison -- which uses the advertising slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair." -- is a dating service that specializes in helping married people cheat on their spouses. The hackers are now threatening to release the names, user profiles, and secret sexual fantasies of Ashley Madison's 37 million members, if the site is not taken down.
Rosie Ruiz "wins" the marathon
In 1980, Rosie Ruiz "won" the Boston Marathon by taking the subway to a stop about a mile from the finish line, and joining the race as part of its fastest pack. Boston police officers then jumped in to support Ruiz, as she feigned exhaustion despite barely haven broken a sweat.
Not out of the woods yet
Once considered the golden boy of golf, Tiger Woods couldn't lose. He had 14 major championship wins, a model wife and endorsement deals up to his ears. Then in 2009, a dozen women came out claiming they had extramarital affairs with him. In the end, Woods admitted to sleeping with over 200 women; a confession that both ended his marriage and sent his career into a tailspin, from which it still hasn't recovered.
Ride and dash
In 1995, cab driver Jamshed Butt drove a man from New York to Michigan and back, only to get a bad check for the $2,000 fare.
School for scandal
In 2012, El Paso, Texas schools were accused of an unimaginable betrayal: forcing out underperforming students to artificially inflate their test scores.
"They took away my high school, my time," said Cesar Diaz, who was told to drop out after his school claimed it had proof he was living in Mexico.
Nancy Kerrigan - cold as ice
In 1994, ice skating was propelled into the national consciousness after the husband of one U.S. Olympic hopeful bashed in the knees of another.
The skaters involved were Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding; and when they both competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, the world watched with rapt attention as the drama played out.
In an Olympic sort of karmic retribution, Nancy Kerrigan (the victim of the incident) ended up winning a silver medal, while her disgraced teammate finished 8th.
The Black Sox Scandal
In 1919, the Chicago White Sox -- armed with star players "Lefty" Williams, Eddie Cicotte (pictured here) and legendary outfielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson -- were favored to win the World Series. In fact, it was unimaginable that they could lose. So, when they did, it raised some eyebrows.
Turns out a majority of the team's starting roster agreed to throw the series for $100,000. Eight of baseball's best players were banned from the sport for life as a result.
FIFA World Cup
Fourteen top FIFA officials were indicted in May of 2015 for their involvement in a 24-year corruption scheme that saw at least two generations of world soccer's governing body pocketing millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks for swaying World Cup bids and marketing commissions.
The alleged corruption may have cost the U.S. its right to host the World Cup in 2022. In fact, questions were raised when the bid for that year was awarded to Qatar instead, a country in which temperatures can reach 140 degrees... not exactly healthy soccer weather.
Man who Madoff with the money
In 2009, American financier Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail for running the largest private Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. It is estimated that he stole close to $65 billion from his firm's 4,800 clients.
Madoff's sons, Andrew and Mark, who both worked for the Wall Street investment firm their father founded, alerted federal authorities to Madoff's elaborate Ponzi scheme and extensive fraud, after being brought into the fold in 2008. Mark later committed suicide after his father's arrest.
Harvard students cheat too
Approximately 125 students at Harvard University were investigated for cheating in 2012, after school officials discovered suspiciously similar answers on a number of take-home final exams.
The students in question were all enrolled in the Spring 2012 section of Government 1310: Introduction to Congress, a course with a reputation for being an easy A.
In the end, about 70 of them were expelled.
How old were they really?
He Kexin of China poses after winning one of two gold medals in the women's uneven bars at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
However, questions were later raised about her potentially being too young to compete.
Though He Kexin's passport officially says that she was 16 at the time of the 2008 Olympic Games, Chinese media reported that she and other teammates may have actually been as young as fourteen at the time.
And this isn't the first time that allegations of underaged gymnasts have plagued the Chinese team. Ten years after the 2000 Games, the International Olympic Committee stripped that Chinese Team of its bronze medal, after uncovering evidence that star gymnast Dong Fangxiao was only 14 when she competed.
So, if a gymnast looks like she couldn't possibly be 16, there's a good chance she isn't yet.
Winning gold
The 1972 U.S. basketball team is seen here celebrating their win over the Soviet Union in the final game of the Olympics in Munich. What's the scandal part? Oh, just that the U.S.S.R. walked away with the gold shortly afterward.
Just before this shot, the U.S.S.R. claimed that they had attempted to call a time out, but been ignored. Referees put three seconds back on the clock. When those three seconds ran out, the USA was still in the lead and celebrated accordingly.
But moments laters, officials claimed the clock had not been reset properly and put an additional three seconds on the clock, giving the Soviet Union another chance for a basket. They ended up making one and winning gold, a decision which is still hotly contested to this day.
Sinners or Saints?
In one of the most harmful cheating scandals in sports history, the NFL discovered that -- from 2009 to 2011 -- players on the New Orleans Saints received bonus pay for intentionally hurting members of opposing teams.
These bounties, which were paid out by several players on the team and their defensive coordinator, included a $10,000 reward for taking out Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.
The NFL fined the New Orleans Saints half a million dollars, suspended a number of players and stripped the team of its second-round draft picks in both 2012 and 2013.
Roids and runs
The period from the late 1980s to the late 2000s is often referred to as "Baseball's Steroids Era" because many major players used the drugs to enhance their games during that time.
To be fair, steroids weren't actually banned in baseball until 1991.
But the huge records set during that time -- most notably by Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds -- are forever tainted by them.
Lies on wheels
The Tour de France bike race has been plagued by doping allegations since it first launched in 1903. But the accusations grew especially loud after the Festina affair, a series of doping scandals.
The scandal came to light when a large amount of doping products were found in a car of the Festina cycling team before a race. A widespread investigation revealed systematic doping by riders participating in the 1998 Tour de France.
Nick Leeson - rogue trader
In the 1990s, stock trader Nick Leeson oversaw millions in unauthorized trades that cost his employer, Barings Bank, $1.38 billion.
The bank failed, and Leeson was sentenced to more than six years in a Singapore prison for fraudulently hiding his losses. He was eventually freed early for good behavior.
Pete Rose's thorn
Pete Rose -- seen here celebrating the 25th anniversary of his breaking Ty Cobb's career hit record -- cost himself a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame by illegally betting on baseball.
In fact, in 2004, he admitted not just to betting on baseball, but to betting on his own team... a big no-no in sports.
German soccer scam
In 2005, German soccer fans vented their anger after referee Robert Hoyzer admitted to rigging five matches for financial gain. Other referees were also caught up in the scam.
Quiz show scandals
Post-WWII America was shocked to learn that many of their favorite TV game shows, such as Jack Narz's "Dotto," were fixed.
The scandals later inspired a movie starring Ralph Fiennes.
Marion Jones - disgraced runner
In 2008, sprinter Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison after admitting to taking steroids in a scandal that also cost her the three gold medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Football espionage
New England Patriots fans were outraged in 2007 after coach Bill Belichick allegedly filmed New York Jets defensive signals on the sideline--a big no-no in the sport. Belichick was hit with the largest coaching fine in league history: $500,000.
Atlanta teachers help students cheat
Eight former educators in Atlanta were sentenced to between one and seven years in prison, this April, for helping their students cheat on tests.
These eight teachers were among eleven former educators accused of engineering a conspiracy a decade in the making. The others were also found guilty, but struck a deal with prosecutors that spared them jail time.
Eleven former educators in Atlanta have been convicted of helping students cheat on tests...the latest entry in a long list of large-scale deceptions.
The eleven former educators were accused of engineering a conspiracy a decade in the making.
Scamming by sea
Cheating on a nuclear sub? Yikes. But that's what allegedly happened in 2010. Navy investigators said they discovered widespread cheating taking place on crew training exams.
Bad milk
Italian food giant Parmalat was exposed for having an $8 billion hole in its accounts.
The scandal, which caused both workers and investors to lose millions, rocked Italy and was quickly dubbed "Europe's Enron."