Haven't seen American Greed. Dirty Money is mostly terrible and fictional (I was involved in one of the stories, you had people on that program claiming they were involved who I have never heard of...Netflix docs are usually very sensationalist/inaccurate).
In other parts of the world, HK being a good example, this happens and can go undisclosed for a long period of time. But in the US, actual fraud is almost always discovered quickly, and there are no bigger whales who never get caught (the reason these frauds work is the difference between what you can get away with temporarily and the long-run...in the long-run, you won't get away with it). There are books (and now reports) on pretty much all the big frauds.
The exception to this are all the earnings management and reporting shenanigans (for example, choosing to close an acquisition on a certain date) or managers/bankers who list shitty companies constantly. None of this is illegal of course, it isn't damaging in itself but it is also not particularly ethical. Knowing about this is usually market knowledge i.e. following a company for a while, and seeing that the CEO is constantly changing strategy/lying, etc. This happens far more often than people think, and is almost never punished (in fact, these people are usually feted in society...they go after fame, they know how to claim reward and divert blame).
In other parts of the world, HK being a good example, this happens and can go undisclosed for a long period of time. But in the US, actual fraud is almost always discovered quickly, and there are no bigger whales who never get caught (the reason these frauds work is the difference between what you can get away with temporarily and the long-run...in the long-run, you won't get away with it). There are books (and now reports) on pretty much all the big frauds.
The exception to this are all the earnings management and reporting shenanigans (for example, choosing to close an acquisition on a certain date) or managers/bankers who list shitty companies constantly. None of this is illegal of course, it isn't damaging in itself but it is also not particularly ethical. Knowing about this is usually market knowledge i.e. following a company for a while, and seeing that the CEO is constantly changing strategy/lying, etc. This happens far more often than people think, and is almost never punished (in fact, these people are usually feted in society...they go after fame, they know how to claim reward and divert blame).