Centennial Technologies Inc

Emanuel Pinez, the CEO of Centennial Technologies, and his management recorded that the company made $2 million in revenue from PC memory cards - the company was really shipping fruit baskets to customers. But the employees then created fake documents to appear as though they were recording sales. Centennial's stock rose 451% to $55.50 per share on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), between April 1994 and December 1996, Centennial overstated its earnings by about $40 million. Amazingly, the company reported profits of $12 million when it really lost about $28 million! The stock plunged to less than $3. Over 20, 000 investors lost almost all of their investment in a company that was once considered a Wall Street darling.