The Great Soybean Fraud of 1963: Tanks Full of Water, Not Oil
Imagine you are a bank. Someone comes to you and says, “I have millions of pounds of soybean oil stored in tanks in New Jersey. Give me a loan.” You send an inspector. The inspector dips a measuring rod into the tank. Oil floats on top. Looks fine. You approve the loan. What you do not know is that 95% of the tank is filled with water and there is just a thin layer of oil floating on the surface.