| Enron executives in court |
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| World Affairs Talk | |
| Friday, 22 June 2007 | |
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Jeff McMahon, who replaced Andrew Fastow as finance chief during the company's spiral into bankruptcy in late 2001, neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also as part of the settlement, the SEC barred McMahon, from being an officer or director for a publicly traded company for five years. McMahon now works for a privately owned energy company in Houston. A federal judge earlier ordered 27-month prison term to the former head of Enron’s broadband division. It was the last verdict of the former executives who admitted to their crimes. Loose ends still remain in the Enron criminal investigation after the sentencing of former broadband division CEO Kenneth Rice, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to securities fraud. Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, who is serving a 24-year prison term for 19 criminal counts, has yet to appeal. Rice faced as much as a decade in prison and agreed to forfeit cash, sports cars and jewelry worth $14.7 million under the terms of his 2004 plea agreement. Between February 2000 and June 2001, Rice sold $53 million worth of Enron stock, some at a time when he later said he had access to secret information about its high debt burdens. Rice's sentencing concludes the government's last move in culling Enron insiders to pursue the company's top executives. He was among 15 former employees who pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, receiving punishments ranging from probation to six years behind bars. Rice admitted to a more serious crime than Kevin Hannon, former chief operating officer for the broadband division, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and drew a two-year sentence. Rice testified in two trials of five other former broadband executives in 2005 and of Skilling last year. Hannon testified only in Skilling's case. Gilmore also ordered Rice to pay a $50,000 fine. He already forfeited more than $13 million in ill-gotten cash and property. Rice's lawyers didn't specify what kind of addiction Rice might have that would qualify for the nine-month treatment program. But other ex-Enron executives sentenced to prison have entered or told judges they plan to enter the program, too. Former treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. shaved his five-year prison term to less than four years with good behavior credit paired with completion of the program. Lawyers for former Enron finance Chief Andrew Fastow and his former top lieutenant, Michael Kopper, told judges their clients intend to enter the program as well. Share & Bookmark             |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 29 June 2007 ) |
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