In the 1950s, a small-town Pennsylvania man bought a small cable company and, over the next several decades, turned it into a multibillion-dollar industry titan. Along the way, his sons joined him as executives in the company and as board members. The family became incredibly wealthy and happily shared the wealth with their friends and neighbors in the small-town community.

At a routine investor meeting, a bond analyst suddenly inquired about a small footnote on the quarterly report that mentioned billions of dollars in off-sheet debt. The founding family had borrowed the funds to support its other enterprises and for personal expenses. Without a sure way to repay the debt, the company stock plummeted, and the company declared bankruptcy. Today, the founder and one of his sons are serving jail time on charges of fraud and the company primarily exists only to resolve the ongoing litigation surrounding the bankruptcy.

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