Jeff Skilling Sentenced to 24 Years (Enron CEO)

WCHS Portland ^ | October 23, 2006

[Lunatic Fringe]

Breaking

[Lunatic Fringe]

CNN.com

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history, CNN confirms.

So long, Jeff... don't drop the soap!

[boxerblues]

who?

[kinoxi]

I don't think he will serve his full sentence.

[Swanks]

Wow; sounds like Ken Lay demise makes Skilling THE new Enron posterboy. He would have gotten less than 24 years if Ken Lay were around to take some of the heat. Ken's way of sticking to the guy who turned on him.

[wideawake]

Federal prisoners generally serve their full sentences. Unless Bill Clinton is president and he has only a few days left in office.

[wideawake]

I disagree. Skilling was more culpable than Lay. And Fastow, who received a short sentence, was more culpable than both combined.

[Dog Gone]

The judge also ruled that he cannot be freed during his appeal.

Report to jail. Report directly to jail.

[taxcontrol]

20 years on average for a murder
24 years for financial fraud


... sounds to me like there was more than just a little bit of emotion in the sentencing.

[italianquaker]

Understood but stewart received 28 months hmmmm

[L.N. Smithee]

A white white collar criminal is going to serve nearly twice the time a treasonous, Islamofascist symp lawyer is going to serve? But...but...I thought corporate criminals got a free pass under the Bushitlerhalliburton Administration!

[OldFriend]

Interesting that thirty months, ala Lynne Stewart, wasn't the sentence.

[Brilliant]

Most murderers get off in less.

[OldFriend]

GMTA

[Hydroshock]

Jeff meet Bubba, Bubba meet Jeff.

[wideawake]

Yes - the sentencing was excessive. The man committed fraud - he didn't murder anyone.

[L.N. Smithee]

A white white collar criminal is going to serve nearly twice the time a treasonous, Islamofascist symp lawyer is going to serve?

I meant to type "twelve" rather than "twice," but more accurately, it's like eleven times longer.

[Dog Gone]

Most murderers get off in less.

Yeah, but Skilling chose to break a federal law, not a state one.

Big difference.

292 month sentence which means he's going to the big house, not Club Fed.

[K-oneTexas]

Whole heartedly agree. Guess if on average you serve 1/3 of the time and are eligible for parole. Skilling will be "on vacation" for at least 7 years at a country club.

[wagglebee]

No, he got home confinement pending the recommendation of the Bureau of Prisons. My guess is that he flees the country tonight.

[Hydroshock]

I have a friend at church who lost literally 75% of the 401k, they will most likely never be able to retire. Thsi sentence is way to short.

[No Truce With Kings]

He could always get the sentance vacated by appealing and then dropping dead.

[38special]

Yes, but Fastow sang.

[Tolsti]

I heard he was thinking of offing himself. He might've been better off, since he'll die in prison now.

[Alberta's Child]

A friend of mine who was very astute about these things once pointed out that the Federal government will pursue perpetrators of financial crimes with an intensity that they don't have when it comes to any other crimes -- even murder.

[pillut48]

Unless he tries the Ken Lay way to avoid jail time...

[wideawake]

I have a friend at church who lost literally 75% of the 401k, they will most likely never be able to retire.

If they hadn't made the most unintelligent retirement decision than anyone can make, Jeff Skilling couldn't have hurt them.

They decided to make themselves vulnerable by putting all their retirement eggs in one basket.

Their retirement situation is almost entirely their own fault.

My employer's stock constitutes less than 8% of my investments - if my employer turned out to be run by even worse crooks than Skilling, Lay and Fastow I would still be just fine.

If you don't diversify, you are begging for financial trouble.

[wagglebee]

The whole 1/3 of the sentence thing is long gone, I think today under Federal guidelines the minimum is 80% and I believe anything over twenty years means low security rather than a minimum security "camp."

[Diddle E. Squat]

20 years on average for a murder 24 years for financial fraud ... sounds to me like there was more than just a little bit of emotion in the sentencing.

Or a sentence reflecting a logical accounting of the (literally) thousands of persons who lost most of their savings as a result of Enron's illegalities.

Perhaps murderers should spend more time in jail, instead of watering down the penalty for committing a host of illegalities and frauds.

[reagan_fanatic]

Most murderers get off in less

I agree. There's something wrong with a system in which a murderer gets less of a sentence than a white collar criminal.

[K-oneTexas]

It is amazing that the Feds were not really able to prove their case without Fastow. He created all the corporations and no one from what I read could decipher his doings. Except him, very convoluted. And he gets the "tap on the wrist" for a sentence.

[Alberta's Child]

Anyone who has 75% of their retirement assets invested in shares of a single company is asking for trouble and deserves no sympathy.

Most people who got screwed in the Enron fraud were stupid, greedy, or both.

[wagglebee]

I agree, the problem is that murderers are even released at all, not that people who defraud thousands of their life savings are given 24 years.

[wideawake]

He's a healthy, trim 52.

He will not be put in stir among violent criminals but will be among his own kind - tax-cheats, fraudsters, etc.

He could easily make it to age 76 as long as he has support from his family and occupies his time in some worthwhile capacity.

[Rockitz]

I didn't see any monetary fine for his role in this sham. Was that released previously?

[Prost1]

Murders should get death.

And people who destroy the life savings of millions of hard working people deserve death as well.

I would shoot the B**t$$d!

And the Dot.com culprits as well.

[wideawake]

The only people who were defrauded of their life's savings were people who wanted to be defrauded of their life's savings - people who were utterly negligent of their retirements.

[wagglebee]

IIRC, Most of the Enron employees didn't have any say in where their money was invested, and when the company was collapsing they were prohibited from pulling their money out.

[shuckmaster]

Skilling was convicted of one count of conspiracy, 12 counts of securities fraud, five counts of making false statements and one count of insider trading. Commit that many separate murders and I bet you get over 24 years...

[taxcontrol]

Skilling's indictment was for:

10 counts of insider trading;
15 counts of securities fraud;
4 counts of wire fraud;
6 counts of making false statements to auditors,
and one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud.

[wideawake]

Indeed.

Fastow worked Lay and Skilling expertly, and then he worked the Feds expertly.

He'll be living well surrounded by his grandkids while Skilling is rotting in rpison and Lay is rotting in the ground.

[Rockitz]

20 years on average for a murder

24 years for financial fraud.

... sounds to me like there was more than just a little bit of emotion in the sentencing.

The stress that he cause many employees and shareholders has undoubtedly led to early death for many of these people. That's makes it a multiple murder in my book.

[wagglebee]

$60 billion in equity disappeared when Enron collapsed, several thousand people lost their jobs, if you think that the only people affected by Enron were the ones who had all of their money in Enron, then you are extremely naive.

[the_Watchman]

Am I the only one on this forum that is suspicious about this sentence being delivered two weeks before a major election? Who is the judge?

[wideawake]

Most of the Enron employees didn't have any say in where their money was invested

They absolutely had a say in where their money was invested. They voluntarily chose Enron stock, because it was available to them at a discount to market value.

and when the company was collapsing they were prohibited from pulling their money out

During the time when Enron stock fell from $85 to $15 they were fully able to pull out. They held on until the stock fell below $15 and the plan administrator froze the plan assets for 60 days.

Again, that was their decision and theyn were informed well ahead of time that the plan would be frozen if the administrator saw fit.

[wagglebee]

They are taking most if not all of his money.

[Rockitz]

Wrong. See my post# 42.

[Alberta's Child]

Enron could not require its employees from investing their money in company stock. Companies are prohibited by law from doing that kind of thing.

It's possible that one exception may involve mandatory investment of matching company contributions to an employee's 401(k) plan -- in which case the money never really belonged to the employees anyway.

[A Texan]

I remember pretty much the same thing, their 401K account we basically company pensions in the form of company stock.

[tomnbeverly]

Wow and just think if only he had aided an abetted a terrorist he would have got 24 months... Jeez this country really has its priorities straight.