Former Enron Corp. President Jeffrey Skilling on Monday was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for his role in Enron Corp.'s 2001 collapse.
ROUNDUP
October 23, 2006 4:11 p.m.
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Enron's demise wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake granted victims of the Enron scandal as well as Skilling supporters a chance to speak at the sentencing, which began at 2 p.m. ET. At least 10 people signed up to speak.
Jeffrey Skilling walked to a Houston court Monday to be sentenced for his role in Enron's collapse. He was flanked by mounted police officers.
Before he was sentenced, Mr. Skilling maintained his innocence. "Your honor, I am innocent of these charges,'' Mr. Skilling told Judge Lake in court Monday. "I'm innocent of every one of these charges. We will continue to pursue my constitutional rights and it's no dishonor to this court and anyone else in this court. But I feel very strongly about this, and I want my friends, my family to know that.''
Mr. Skilling, 52 years old, also disputed reports that he had no remorse for his role in the fraud that led to Enron's collapse in 2001. "I can tell you that's just the furthest thing from the truth,'' he said. "It's been very hard on me, but probably, more important, incredibly hard on my family, incredibly hard on employees of Enron Corp., incredibly hard on my friends and incredibly hard on the community," Mr. Skilling said. "And I want my friends, my family to know this.''
Mr. Skilling's second wife, former Enron corporate secretary Rebecca Carter, was in the courtroom.
After the victims and a lawyer for victims had a chance to say their piece, Judge Lake handed down the sentence. It is not yet clear whether the judge required Mr. Skilling be taken into custody immediately or allowed to remain free pending appeal. Judge Lake on Monday set investor loss tied to Mr. Skilling's actions at $80 million, which was the guideline for the sentence under new, tougher federal guidelines. With that figure, Mr. Skilling faced between 24.3 years to 30.4 years in prison, and his sentence came in on the low end of that range. He also faces more than $18 million in fines for his crimes. Prosecutors had been seeking damages over $100 million.
Mr. Skilling arrived at court Monday, flanked by his lawyers and seven mounted police, for sentencing. In May, Mr. Skilling was convicted on 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading during a joint trial with former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. The charges against Mr. Lay were dropped last week after he died unexpectedly in July before he could appeal the decision. (See article1.)
Mr. Skilling had pleaded not guilty to all charges and recruited a multimillion-dollar defense team to battle the prosecution's allegations that he masterminded the conspiracy to manipulate earnings at Enron. During his testimony, Mr. Skilling often sparred with prosecutors and said, "I will fight these charges until the day I die. I am absolutely innocent."
Several other former Enron executives, by contrast, cooperated with prosecutors and were rewarded with relatively lenient sentences. Andrew Fastow, Enron's onetime chief financial officer, was sentenced to six years in prison last month, well short of the 10 years he'd agreed to in a plea deal. Prosecutors said Mr. Fastow was integral in helping prosecutors secure convictions against other Enron executives, including Messrs. Lay and Skilling.
David Delainey, the former head of Enron's controversial wholesale energy-trading unit, received just 2 ½ years in prison, while Paula Rieker, the former No. 2 in investor relations, had her sentence whittled down to 2 ½ years probation from the maximum 10 years in prison.
Mr. Skilling, in many ways, is regarded as the last man standing after a several-year run of corporate wrongdoing that spanned many industries, from health care to telecommunications, energy and finance. Among the other cases that have already been decided, former WorldCom finance chief Scott Sullivan cut a deal and landed a five-year prison sentence, while the telecom giant's former CEO, Bernard Ebbers, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
In the case of Enron, Mr. Skilling is the most high-profile executive to be sentenced, but he isn't the last. Sentencing for the former finance chief of Enron's broadband unit, Kevin Howard, is slated for later this month, and sentencing for Enron's former top accountant, Richard Causey, was rescheduled to mid-November.
White-Collar Sentences
The white-collar sentences that have been handed out so far have largely been based on the estimated cost to investors of the fraud. Here's a handful of some high-profile executives and the sentences they received.Name Former title/company Nature of charges Sentence
Bernard Ebbers Chairman, CEO
WorldCom Overseeing accounting fraud, falsifying earnings 25 years to life in prison
Andrew Fastow CFO, Enron Created and ran controversial partnerships that were considered key vehicles for accounting fraud 6 years in prison, 2 years community service
Martin Grass CEO, Rite Aid Accounting fraud 8 years in prison, 3 years probation
Dennis Kozlowski CEO, Tyco Looting $600 million from company, accounting fraud 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison
Jamie Olis Tax lawyer, accountant, Dynegy Accounting fraud, conspiracy 6 years in prison, reduced from initial sentence of 24 years
John Rigas Founder, Adelphia Accounting fraud, conspiracy 15 years in prison (reduced due to poor health)
Timothy Rigas CFO, Adelphia Accounting fraud, conspiracy 20 years in prison
Jeffrey Skilling President, CEO, Enron Accounting fraud, conspiracy, insider trading 24 years, 4 months in prison
Scott Sullivan CFO, WorldCom Masterminding accounting fraud 5 years in prison
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