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Fraud
Files: Enron's Jeffrey Skilling Says By Tracy Coenen Last week, the poster boy
for executives committing fraud, Jeffrey Skilling, had his appeal of
his criminal conviction heard before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Skilling was convicted in 2006 on 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud,
false statements and insider trading related to his work as the CEO
of failed energy concern Enron. But even at sentencing,
Skilling claimed he was innocent of
all charges and Enron collapsed because of
outside forces. (That still gives me a chuckle each time I read it.)
Senator Wants Lay's Conviction to Stand By David Ivanovich
U.S. District Court Judge
Sim Lake earlier this week wiped out the one-time Enron Corp.
chairman's con-victions because Lay died before his appeals had been
exhausted. Lake's decision followed a precedent set in another case
in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Feinstein argued the Fifth Circuit's ruling went beyond a doctrine in common law which wipes out punishments after a defendant's death. "The Supreme Court has never held that it also must wipe out a victim's right to compensatory relief such as restitution," Feinstein wrote. A Justice Department spokeswoman could not immediately comment on the letter. Feinstein, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she plans to introduce legislation during Congress' lame duck after the elections to try to address the circuit court's controversial decision. Lay died July 5 just weeks after a jury found him guilty on six charges of fraud and conspiracy. Lake also found him guilty of four counts of bank fraud.
This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4275807.html
You can also access online a news release entitled "Senator Feinstein Calls on Attorney General Gonzales to Appeal Dismissal of Convictions of Enron's Former Chairman and CEO Ken Lay; Senator Feinstein also announces intention to introduce legislative fix to this issue." Judge Throws Out Kenneth Lays Conviction By Kate Murphy HOUSTON — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the fraud and conspiracy conviction of Kenneth L. Lay, the former Enron executive, who died of heart failure in July while on vacation in Colorado. Judge Simeon T. Lake III ruled that the conviction must be voided because Mr. Lay cannot pursue an appeal his guilty verdict. The decision, which had been expected, prevents the government from trying to seize more than $43.5 million from Mr. Lay’s estate that prosecutors claimed he stole from Enron before it collapsed in 2001. Mr. Lay, who was 64, died about six weeks after he and another former chief executive, Jeffrey K. Skilling, were convicted of spearheading the fraud that led to Enron’s collapse in December 2001. "We’re very pleased that the criminal case against Mr. Lay is now over," said Sam Buffone, the lawyer who successfully filed the motions to have both Mr. Lay’s indictment and conviction dismissed. A jury found Mr. Lay guilty in May of six counts of conspiracy and fraud, and Judge Lake, in a separate trial, found him guilty of four counts of bank fraud. Mr. Skilling, who was convicted of 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors had initially sought $139.3 million from Mr. Skilling and $43.5 million from Mr. Lay. But after Mr. Lay’s death, the government moved to force Mr. Skilling to pay the entire $182.8 million. Mr. Lay, who before his trial presented the image of an avuncular philanthropist who played golf with presidents, was often prickly and argumentative on the witness stand. He appeared sullen, shook his head dismissively and slouched in his chair throughout the four-month trial. Even after his conviction, he maintained that he had not committed any crimes and that, moreover, Enron was a healthy company brought down by unfavorable news coverage and the deceit of his chief financial officer, Andrew S. Fastow. In his 13-page decision, Judge Lake cited established case law that required revocation of convictions if defendants die without opportunity to appeal. The Justice Department had asked the judge to delay ruling until Congress had time to pass legislation that would have retroactively allowed Mr. Lay’s conviction to stand. But lawmakers recessed before considering the matter. Tuesday’s decision will make it harder for former Enron employees and shareholders to lay claim to the millions in Mr. Lay’s estate because they cannot point to his criminal conviction as proof of wrongdoing. But, David Berg, a defense lawyer in Houston, said, "The civil suits are going after deeper pockets like the investment banks" that have been accused of participating in the fraud. While many former Enron employees expressed outrage and Internet blogs seethed that Mr. Lay’s conviction had been "erased from the books," others were resigned. "I’m numb to the whole thing," said Tina Tennant, who was an executive assistant at Enron and is part of the class-action lawsuit. "It’s over and it’s really over now."
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WASHINGTON
— Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called on the Justice Department
today to appeal a Houston judge's decision to vacate the late Ken
Lay's fraud and conspiracy convictions.|
A Feast
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