The salad oil scandal, also referred to as the soybean scandal, was an American major corporate scandal in 1963 that caused over $180 million ($1.79 billion today) in losses to corporations including American Express, Bank of America and Bank Leumi, as well as many international trading companies.[1] The scandal's ability to push otherwise cautious and conservative lenders into increasingly risky practices has prompted some comparisons to later financial crises, including the 2007–2008 subprime mortgage crisis.[2]
The scandal involved the Allied Crude Vegetable Oil company in New Jersey in the United States, owned by Anthony "Tino" De Angelis, a former commodities broker. De Angelis had been in trouble with the law previously for supplying schools with beef from uncertified sources under the National School Lunch Act.
Given CFC's size and general reputation (tarnished subprime activities aside), the company's woes bear at least passing resemblance to the 'salad oil scandal' that hit American Express in the 1960s.Copy at The Market Oracle.