RESEARCHER Former Enron CEO Lay pleads not guilty Thu Jul 8, 2004 16:03 64.140.158.250 Results 1 - 10 of about 78 for Former Enron Chairman Kenneth L Lay. Former Enron CEO Lay pleads not guilty Newsday, NY - 35 minutes ago By DANA CALVO and JESUS SANCHEZ Los Angeles Times Staff Writers July 8, 2004, 2:08 PM EDT HOUSTON -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth L. Lay pleaded not guilty today to 11 criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud, for his role in a massive financial scandal that toppled the once powerful energy trading giant into bankruptcy. The influential corporate titan, who had surrendered to federal authorities earlier in the day, responded, "Not guilty, your Honor" in a booming voice after the charges were read to him in a packed federal courtroom in Houston. Lay, 62, departed the courthouse after posting a $500,000 bond and agreeing to turn over three shotguns in his home. "The top echelon at Enron has now been called to account for their crimes," said prosecutor and Enron Task Force Director Andrew Weissmann during a press conference. Lay was scheduled to appear later today at a press conference. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against Lay today for allegedly falsifying Enron's publicly reported financial results and making false and misleading statements about the Houston-based company's business performance and financial condition. The 65-page indictment, unsealed in federal court today, charges Lay, 62, with multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements. If convicted of all charges, Lay would face up to 175 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines and restitution. The indictment also wraps in previous charges filed against some of Lay's former colleagues, including chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling and chief accounting officer Richard Causey. In their complaint, federal prosecutors claim that Lay, Skilling, Causey and others "engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to deceive the investing public, including Enron's shareholders, the SEC, and others" about the company's financial problems. Lay was indicted after a 2 �-year government probe into a web of corporate fraud, financial manipulation and other abuses that undermined the former Fortune 500 company and forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2001. Thousands of Enron workers have lost their jobs, and shareholders suffered tens of billions of dollars in losses as the value of their stock plunged from more than $80 a share to less than a $1. Prosecutors claim that to protect the company's stock price, Enron executives lied to shareholders, lenders and regulators about the company's financial health and risky financial partnership. Those financial partnerships, whose losses contributed to the company's failure, allowed Enron to keep debt and liabilities off its books while generating enormous profits for many executives, prosecutors claim. Lay, who had headed Enron since the mid-1980s, resigned as chairman and chief executive in early 2002. Lay has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing as a team of government prosecutors known as the Enron taskforce filed charges against company employees, including chief executive Skilling, who was indicted in February on 35 counts of fraud, insider trading and conspiracy. Skilling, who has denied all charges, faced fines of up to $80 million and 325 years in prison. Other notable executives who have been charged include chief financial officer Andrew S. Fastow and chief accounting officer Causey. Once hailed as one of the nation's most innovative companies, Enron grew rapidly during the 1990s by buying and selling natural gas, power, pipelines, power facilities, telecommunications and other assets. The company also became a major player in trading electricity, and was involved in California's disastrous effort to deregulate its electricity market in the late 1990s. Enron and some of its employees were charged with manipulating electric supplies that helped trigger the state's power crisis of 2000 and 2001. Calvo reported from Houston, Sanchez handled rewrite in Los Angeles. Copyright © 2004, The Los Angeles Times HOUSTON -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth L. Lay pleaded not guilty today to 11 criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud, for his role in a massive ... http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/la-070804enron_furl,0,5104106.framedurl?coll=sns-business-headlines Wheels of Justice grind exceedingly slow — R.W. Barker, Thu Jul 8 16:28 Re: Wheels of Justice grind exceedingly slow — ZOBOLI, Thu Jul 8 18:07 JOHN EDWARDS IS THE REASON WE NEED THE ORIGNAL 13TH AMENTMEN — RESEARCHER, Thu Jul 8 17:24
By DANA CALVO and JESUS SANCHEZ Los Angeles Times Staff Writers July 8, 2004, 2:08 PM EDT HOUSTON -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth L. Lay pleaded not guilty today to 11 criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud, for his role in a massive financial scandal that toppled the once powerful energy trading giant into bankruptcy. The influential corporate titan, who had surrendered to federal authorities earlier in the day, responded, "Not guilty, your Honor" in a booming voice after the charges were read to him in a packed federal courtroom in Houston. Lay, 62, departed the courthouse after posting a $500,000 bond and agreeing to turn over three shotguns in his home. "The top echelon at Enron has now been called to account for their crimes," said prosecutor and Enron Task Force Director Andrew Weissmann during a press conference. Lay was scheduled to appear later today at a press conference. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against Lay today for allegedly falsifying Enron's publicly reported financial results and making false and misleading statements about the Houston-based company's business performance and financial condition. The 65-page indictment, unsealed in federal court today, charges Lay, 62, with multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements. If convicted of all charges, Lay would face up to 175 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines and restitution. The indictment also wraps in previous charges filed against some of Lay's former colleagues, including chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling and chief accounting officer Richard Causey. In their complaint, federal prosecutors claim that Lay, Skilling, Causey and others "engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to deceive the investing public, including Enron's shareholders, the SEC, and others" about the company's financial problems. Lay was indicted after a 2 �-year government probe into a web of corporate fraud, financial manipulation and other abuses that undermined the former Fortune 500 company and forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2001. Thousands of Enron workers have lost their jobs, and shareholders suffered tens of billions of dollars in losses as the value of their stock plunged from more than $80 a share to less than a $1. Prosecutors claim that to protect the company's stock price, Enron executives lied to shareholders, lenders and regulators about the company's financial health and risky financial partnership. Those financial partnerships, whose losses contributed to the company's failure, allowed Enron to keep debt and liabilities off its books while generating enormous profits for many executives, prosecutors claim. Lay, who had headed Enron since the mid-1980s, resigned as chairman and chief executive in early 2002. Lay has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing as a team of government prosecutors known as the Enron taskforce filed charges against company employees, including chief executive Skilling, who was indicted in February on 35 counts of fraud, insider trading and conspiracy. Skilling, who has denied all charges, faced fines of up to $80 million and 325 years in prison. Other notable executives who have been charged include chief financial officer Andrew S. Fastow and chief accounting officer Causey. Once hailed as one of the nation's most innovative companies, Enron grew rapidly during the 1990s by buying and selling natural gas, power, pipelines, power facilities, telecommunications and other assets. The company also became a major player in trading electricity, and was involved in California's disastrous effort to deregulate its electricity market in the late 1990s. Enron and some of its employees were charged with manipulating electric supplies that helped trigger the state's power crisis of 2000 and 2001. Calvo reported from Houston, Sanchez handled rewrite in Los Angeles. Copyright © 2004, The Los Angeles Times HOUSTON -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth L. Lay pleaded not guilty today to 11 criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud, for his role in a massive ... http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/la-070804enron_furl,0,5104106.framedurl?coll=sns-business-headlines
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