Fraud itself, by definition, is a gain, so that cannot be what did them in.
It's the consequences of getting caught that do you in. The consequences can be fines, the consequences may be legal liabilities, etc. But in some industries, the consequence of losing your reputation effectively means losing your business -- eventually resulting in bankruptcy.
Quoting the Wikipedia page on Arthur Andersen [1]:
> Since the ruling vacated Andersen's felony conviction, it theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. The damage to the Andersen name was so severe, however, that it has not returned as a viable business even on a limited scale.
Perhaps a better example would be Mossack Fonseca [2], the main firm behind the Panama Papers, who shut themselves down recently because what client wants to be associated with that hot mess?
Your clients running away will kill you a lot faster than any authority (short of industries where an authority can revoke your license to do business, eg: banking).
It's the consequences of getting caught that do you in. The consequences can be fines, the consequences may be legal liabilities, etc. But in some industries, the consequence of losing your reputation effectively means losing your business -- eventually resulting in bankruptcy.
Quoting the Wikipedia page on Arthur Andersen [1]:
> Since the ruling vacated Andersen's felony conviction, it theoretically left Andersen free to resume operations. The damage to the Andersen name was so severe, however, that it has not returned as a viable business even on a limited scale.
Perhaps a better example would be Mossack Fonseca [2], the main firm behind the Panama Papers, who shut themselves down recently because what client wants to be associated with that hot mess?
Your clients running away will kill you a lot faster than any authority (short of industries where an authority can revoke your license to do business, eg: banking).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Andersen#Demise
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossack_Fonseca