Howard Hopson's billion dollar fraud: The rise and fall of associated gas & electric company, 1921-1940

This is a case study of financial fraud. The Associated Gas & Electric Company (AG&E), controlled by Howard C. Hopson, was one of the largest utility holding companies of the 'Roaring 20s'. Hopson's AG&E rose spectacularly in the market boom and fell hard following the 192...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Business history 2018-04, Vol.60 (3), p.381-398
Main Author:	Hausman, William J.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	20th century Associated Gas and Electric Companies Corporate histories Electric utilities Financial fraud Fraud Holding Holding companies Hopson, Howard C Howard Hopson Illegal Public Utility Holding Company Act Samuel Insull Transactions White collar crime
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	This is a case study of financial fraud. The Associated Gas & Electric Company (AG&E), controlled by Howard C. Hopson, was one of the largest utility holding companies of the 'Roaring 20s'. Hopson's AG&E rose spectacularly in the market boom and fell hard following the 1929 crash. Hopson tried unsuccessfully to save the company, while simultaneously enriching himself, using financial transactions that ultimately were determined to be illegal. The major policy reaction to the financial manipulations of the period, for which Hopson became a public symbol, was passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act, which mandated the 'death' of most electric utility holding companies.
ISSN:	0007-6791 1743-7938