Former Enron CFO Surrenders to FBI
Wednesday October 2, 8:23 am ET
Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) -- The former chief financial officer of Enron Corp. voluntarily surrendered to FBI agents on Wednesday as prosecutors were expected to file charges related to his role in the company's collapse.
Andrew S. Fastow, 40, arrived at the FBI's headquarters in Houston Wednesday morning in anticipation of an initial federal court appearance on charges related to partnerships credited with fueling Enron's swift descent into bankruptcy last year.
Fastow, wearing a charcoal gray suit and red tie, showed up at Houston's FBI headquarters accompanied by his attorney, John Keker. After Fastow turned himself in, Keker quickly left in the black Volvo Fastow arrived in.
The government is bringing criminal charges against Fastow, who is said to have devised the company's complex web of off-the-books partnerships used to hide some $1 billion in debt from shareholders and federal regulators. The partnerships that also inflated profits and earned him tens of millions of dollars either upfront or in kickbacks. He is the highest-level executive at Enron so far to surrender to authorities.
Fastow has remained silent since the company revealed a massive third-quarter loss and a $1.2 billion writedown of shareholder equity nearly a year ago caused by some of his partnerships backed by sinking Enron stock. Fastow was forced out of Enron a week after those revelations, ending his 11-year career there.
In August, a once-trusted Fastow aide, Michael Kopper, pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Kopper said in federal court in Houston that it was Fastow who provided loans for investments, received kickbacks or negotiated deals that benefited the partnerships rather than the big energy-trading company, now bankrupt. |
