I imagine it's a little like being the CFO or chief book keeper of a highly profitable, but morally bankrupt company

So long as you're the money guy and the dollars are flowing in, you feel like you're on top of the world. Everything you touch turns to gold, how could what you're doing possibly be criminal? If Uncle Sam hasn't knocked down your door just yet, the system must value you and your ilk as contributors.

Then the lies and shady deals start coming to light, and the knives come out for you, and the facade crumbles far faster than it was built. Your books turn into gold themselves - except now they're valuable to the prosecutors, not the shareholders.