Advertisement AdvertisementA jury found former Enron Corp. chief executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling guilty of lying about the company's financial troubles in a verdict yesterday that could send them to jail for years.
The convictions in a business scandal that sent shockwaves to Wall Street and Washington were a major victory for US prosecutors intent on sending a message that corporate America must clean up its act.
Lay, 64, was convicted of six counts of conspiracy and fraud and faces up to 45 years in prison.
Skilling was found guilty of 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, insider trading and making false statements which, combined, carry a maximum sentence of 185 years. He was not convicted on nine criminal counts.
In a separate trial, US District Judge Sim Lake found Lay guilty of all four bank fraud charges for illegally using money from $US75 million in personal loans to buy stock.
Skilling looked down when the sentence was read, while Lay's wife, Linda, grabbed her husband's arm.
Enron, once the nation's seventh largest company, collapsed into what was then the biggest US bankruptcy in December 2001 amid disclosures it had used off-the-books deals to hide debt and inflate profits.
The convictions of Lay and Skilling bring to 19 the number of Enron executives who pleaded guilty or have been found guilty of crimes for their part in the company's demise.
Reuters
--- ThatRogersWoman <debburz at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Both guilty on most counts.
>
> And in the second, concurrent bench trial for Ken
> Lay, judge has
> found Lay guilty on at least 3 counts.
>
> Details coming out are fuzzy (local news sucks).
>
> JAIL TIME!!! And early signs are that the judge
> will give
> substantial time in this.
>
> Better information available from chron.com or other
> news sources.
>
> WHOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
>
> - Deborah
>
> ___________________________________
>
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
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