DOJ launches criminal probe of Enron
cbs.marketwatch.com
By Associated Press
Last Update: 6:49 PM ET Jan. 9, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Enron Corp., whose employees lost billions when the company went bankrupt.
The department has formed a task force, headed by the criminal division, that is comprised of federal prosecutors in Houston, San Francisco, New York and several other cities, said a Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting civil investigations.
Enron, which was formed in 1985 and has 20,000 employees, was once the world's top buyer and seller of natural gas and the largest electricity marketer in the United States. It also marketed coal, pulp, paper, plastics, metals and fiber-optic bandwidth.
One likely focus of the Justice Department investigation: Possible fraud based on Enron's heavy reliance on off-balance-sheet partnerships which took on Enron debt. The partnerships masked Enron's financial problems and left its credit ratings healthy so it could obtain the cash and credit crucial to running its trading business.
Shares of Enron (ENE: news, chart, profile) rose 6 cents to 79 cents Wednesday. |
