Former Enron bosses Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling have both been found guilty on fraud, conspiracy and other charges.The two presided over the spectacular collapse of the energy giant in 2001 and were also accused of lying to investors about its financial problems.
The two former chief executives faced 34 counts relating to Enron’s collapse.
Andrew Fastow, Enron’s former chief finance officer, pleaded guilty to his part in the scandal in 2004 having agreed to testify against his former bosses.
He paid fines totalling $23m and received a sentence of 10 years in jail.
In all, Skilling has been found guilty on 19 of the 28 counts he faced – with the “not guilty” verdicts coming on some of the charges of insider trading.
He could face as much as 185 years in jail.
Lay, however, has been found guilty of all six fraud and conspiracy charges that he faced. He could face as much as 45 years behind bars.
Throw away the key!
Bravo!
So sad. The innocent always get locked up for crimes they didnt commit. When are we going to learn that in order to create a perfect world we just need to put the minorities in jail.
I think it is a mistake for executives like this to lawyer up. I suspect the public would be forgiving if they fessed up at least to their negligence, rather than conintuing the slick double talk of innocence they developed at Harvard, Yale and Sloan.
Good bye and good riddance. I’ll be in 5 years they will find religon and write a book telling us how much they have learned of themselves and God and jail is the best thing that happened to them because they finally found themselves. I hope they will be telling the truth, then.
Jim
Jim
And Ken Lay’s new prison nickname is “Prison Lay.”
I hear that Bush has shortlisted both of them to run FEMA.
sadly, as Greg Palast points out, Enron gets away with murder or a least grand larceny by bilking California and Texas utility consumers out of $9 billion, while destroying the retirement savings of employees and lying to everyone in sight. They’re convicted of stock fraud, cheating the moneyed class. No doubt one of Bush’s final acts as America’s most miserable failure of a president will be to pardon Kenny boy and his sleazy co-conspirators.
I sure hope you are wrong about the pardon, Green. But, I fear you are not.
I just sit here thanking my lucky stars that I did not take an accounting job with Enron. Of course, the energy company that I did join is also bankrupt as well. At least we were not public for the morally bankrupt owner to have his dirty laundry aired in a national arena.
they RAn the company, they should STAY in jail…
But the WORST white collar criminals only spend a FRACTION of time in jail….MAYBE 5-10 years MAX…
The media kept making it out like the company was a fraud concocted by Lay. I think the fraud happened after the company went south, and they really thought they had a good business model. I wouldn’t mind a pardon depending on the charges. Then again for a company that was pushing the Kyoto Treaty, I don’t see any reason to do special favors.
They’ll never serve a day. Sentancing will be postponed, apeals will be tied up for months, and when all is exhausted, it’ll be the end of Bushies’ term and he’ll pardoned at least Lay for all the donations.
Different system for the rich and connected.
Give them the chair.
LOOK,
If some LOWLY Peon, had done something like this, they would be in jail so fast and for SOoooo LONG, their GREAT GREAt grand children would be visiting them in jail.
If someone got caught commiting the biggest heist in the US, against the banks, it would be just as bad and the SAMe would happen to them.
these guys made off with ALOT. THIs IS the biggest heist…ANd NO ONE is going to see a CENT RETURNED…
they are worse the those running DELTA Airlines…
the MONEY is going to the LAWYERS for all the delays they can make.
And they are connected. TOTALLY…
IF they DO goto jail, and DONT get pardoned, MOSt they will spend is 5-10.. Or until pardoned by the NEXT president.
they should turn the company into a PUBLIC controlled UTILITY..
I remember seeing something about the laws in their states allow them to keep their houses.
Even if their investors lost their houses, their families, their shirts…
Somebody needs to go plant a bunch of marijuana in their backyards, then I think the Federales can take ’em.
The last sentence (no pun intended) in the article is “The sentencing has been set for September 11.” Their sentencing was scheduled on a day that people will have their minds off the media. My guess is that the judge will give them a lighter sentence than he would have if the sentencing day was on a slow news days. Anyway, how many people would do 5 years in prison if someone was going to give you $500 million when you got out? It’s almost the same like going off to college except the State picks up all living and housing expenses. Plus, you get a free five year gym membership!
Lets see,
these guys Hurt, and take advantage of MILLIONS of people, and HARM even more, by taking there money, impovorishing many, taking money from retirees…
Where’s the MONEY??
WHERE’s the RETURN of service to replace what they took.
Where’s retribution???
Stock holders SCREWED, Over charge States and citizens, LOSS of profits…
DID these guys do worse then those on 9/11???
get them running on a tredmill for the next 5 years to generate power for Cali….THEN I will think it Just…
It doesn’t matter what their punishment is, because Bush will pardon them on his way out.
Leaders must be accountable for their failures and irresponsible leadership. It wasn’t like only a single division of the company had gone bad. Anyway, isn’t this “risk” and responsiblity the reason why they justify getting these gross salaries and bonus packages? Isn’t capitalism supposed to be about risk vs reward? They played the game and (won then) lost and need to suffer the repurcussions that reflect the damage they caused in carrying out or failing to carry out their “duties”. IMO, they’re lucky not to get the electric chair.
18,
AGREED, but I was under the Thought…
that BUSINESs was to help and advance sociaty, or at the LEAST the country… To (somewhat) TRY to make things better.
NOt hinder it, Banckrupt it, or ABUSE it…
But, you have seen it before…
White collar crime, PAYS…