Edward L. Doheny prices were high. The Mexican Petroleum Company was the largest in Mexico, and Mexico was the largest oil producer in the world. In 1922 Albert B. Fall, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, leased the oil field at Elk Hills, California, to the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. Around the same time, the Teapot Dome Field in Wyoming was leased to Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation. Both oilfields were part of the US Navy's petroleum reserves. Neither lease was subject to competitive bidding. In 1924 rumors about corruption in the deals escalated into the Teapot Dome scandal. Doheny's reputation was somewhat
Salad Oil scandal Salad Oil scandal The Salad Oil scandal, also referred to as the "Soybean Scandal", was a major corporate scandal in 1963 that ultimately caused over $150 million – approximately $1.45 billion in 2017 dollars – in losses to corporations including American Express, Bank of America and Bank Leumi, as well as many international trading companies. The scandal's ability to push otherwise cautious and conservative lenders into increasingly risky practices has prompted some comparisons to recent financial crises including the 2007–2008 subprime mortgage financial crisis. The scandal involved the company Allied Crude Vegetable Oil in New Jersey, led by Anthony "Tino"