World's ten millionaires behind bars

New Delhi: While money can buy a lot, it can't buy you independence from the law. Blinded by the light of wealth and success, some well-off individuals have made foolish decisions to maintain or amass wealth and they've suffered harsh consequences because of their errant desire to have it all. Here is the list of ten millionaires who have spent time behind bars: 1. Bernie Madoff American stockbroker Bernard ‘Bernie' Madoff has gone down in history as the instigator of the largest Ponzie Scheme in history. With an estimated net worth, now, of -$17 billion, Madoff had been worth about $800 million in his hey day. In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty and was charged to 150 years in prison. In a tragic end to this stunning tale of deception, Madoff's son Mark committed suicide after his father's arrest – while his other son, Peter, was also imprisoned for his involvement. 2. Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev Once Russia's richest individuals, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev had a net worth of $15 billion. They previously led the infamous Yukos Oil, but have been in prison since 2003 because of legal cases including tax evasion and fraud. The two were set to be released from jail in 2011, but they were convicted again in 2009 for embezzlment and money laundering. There have been accusations that the scandal and arrests were politically motivated. 3. Alfred Taubman Alfred was a Michigan-born philanthropist and real estate developer, best known for creating the modern shopping mall concept. His company Taubman Centers own some of the most popular shopping malls in the United States. Alfred was sentenced to 10 months in because of his involvement in price-fixing scam between Sothebys and Christies in the early 2000s. He was charged $7.5 million for his participation, labelled as ‘anti-trust violations'. 4. Michael Milke Michael Milken was a financier, known for his philanthropic work including the famous Milken Institute Global Conference, which was designed as a forum for scholars to discuss social and economic issues. Milken was also Knowledge Universe's chairman, operating thousands of preschools throughout with about 40,000 employees. He was released 1993, but is still under investigation on suspicion of violating the terms of his ban from the securities industry. 5. Chey Tae Won Chey Tae Won was chairman of the renowned South Korean conglomerate, SK Corporation which is primarily involved in the energy, petroleum and chemical industries. But this millionaire was indicted in 2012 for embezzling nearly $45 million from several SK companies. When he was found guilty, he landed a 4-year prison sentence by the District Court of Seoul and eventually resigned as the corporation's chairman. 6. Wong Kwong Yu He once had a net worth of up to $6.3 billion, and he served as the Chairman of GOME Electrical Appliances. In 2008, Wong was investigated for stock market manipulation and he was is now serving a 14 year jail sentence for his crimes. 7. Allen Stanford Allen Stanford will see out his life in prison, after being sentenced to 110 years for his role in what was described as a ‘massive Ponzi Scheme'. The Texan once was the Chairman of the Stanford Financial Group, leading a financial conspiracy that aimed to deceive investors. Stanford's scheme robbed investors of $7 billion. 8. Raj Rajaratnam This Sri Lanken former billionaire made his money through the Galleon Group, a hedge fund management firm that was known to manage about $7 billion before it closed its doors in 2009. The firm closed abruptly in October that year, when Rajaratnam was arrested under suspicion of insider trading. In 2011 he was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years behind bars, and was ordered to pay an unprecedented $92.8 million penalty. 9. Kim Dotcom German-Finnish larger-than-life Kim made his millions as an online entrepreneur. He's famed for founding the file-sharing online service Megaupload, which is believed to have cost the entertainment industry hundreds of millions in pirated content. He's been consistently making headlines for his shady online dealings – his convictions date back to 1994 when he was found guilty of fraud and data espionage. At that point, $17 million was seized in assets alone. 10. Jordan Belfort Jordan was once a multi-millionaire reaping massive success as a stockbroker. Belfort was making an estimated $250 Million a year when he was 25 years old thanks to his stock broking firm, the Stratton Oakmont. The money dried up, though, after Jordan was found guilty of money laundering and fraud. He had to pay back at least $100 million in ill-gotten gains.