Posted on 06/17/2004 5:40:29 PM PDT by Robert357
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed suit Thursday against Enron Corp. and several subsidiaries for allegedly manipulating market prices during the state's 2000-01 energy crisis and costing Californians billions of dollars.
The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, seeks restitution and unspecified damages from the Houston-based energy giant whose trading practices are under investigation by the Justice Department.
--snip--The filing comes amid the attorney general's ongoing battle with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to collect as much as $9 billion in refunds from energy wholesalers that officials say the state is owed to cover overcharges it paid during the energy crisis. FERC has estimated the overcharges at around $3 billion and has collected less than $100 million to date.
"If FERC had been aggressive from the beginning we wouldn't have to file these lawsuits" against Enron and other companies, Lockyer said.
The attorney general is also attempting to reverse a decision by FERC last month requiring that California refund Enron and other energy companies nearly $270 million in overcharges from power the state sold during the energy crisis.
The sales took place after the state stepped in to buy power on behalf of three nearly bankrupt California utilities to ensure an adequate supply.
The lawsuit filed Thursday contends that between 1998 and 2001 Enron violated California's commodities and unfair competition laws by engaging in "a number of unlawful, unfair, fraudulent and manipulative trading schemes" to artificially boost energy prices and the company's profits.
Each violation of the state's unfair competition law is punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, while breaches of the state's commodities law can be punishable by up to $25,000 per incident.
The suit, the first filed against Enron by the state, accuses the company of deliberately causing congestion along power transmission lines, then reaping extra revenue for taking action to relieve the bogus congestion. The company also allegedly misrepresented out-of-market energy sales so it could sell power back to the state at a higher price.
"While the state reeled from the combined impact of sky-high power prices, supply shortages and rolling blackouts, the Enron defendants enjoyed massive, unprecedented profits and extracted millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains from utilities and their customers through a variety of fraudulent schemes," according to the 20-page complaint.
By bringing the case to state court, Lockyer said he is hopeful California can get its hands on some of Enron's assets before the company's plans to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization are completed.
"I want to get Enron and its executives before a California jury ... and let them make judgments," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
AG Lockyer is still at it.
The last two paragraph/sentences of the article tell the hole tale. Lockyer is trying to use a California jury to get his hands on money before it goes to a federal bankruptcy court for distribution to Enron creditors in the bankrupcy, including retires on pensions and other creditors. This is not about getting surplus money out of Enron coffers, this is about stiffing somebody else.
The question I would like answered is where did all the theoretical billions of unethical profits go? Enron is Bankrupt. A. Anderson, their accounting firm is no more. The Board members of Enron don't look like they are siting on Billions. So where did the money go? Did it go into overtime salaries for union workers to perform 24/7 maintenance on power plants? Did it go to pay local air polution control agency fines? Did it go to pay for high natural gas prices? Did it go to pay for expedited installation of California mandated polution control equipment and Enron controlled power plants? Where did the billions go? One would think that if they was a big pot of money from the ill-gotten gains, that Lockyer would target that pot of money. All he is trying to do is stiff the federal bankruptcy court.
Today's installment.
Grey Davis doesn't have deep enough pockets, obviously.
Do you have handy the range of prices in the thread you posted yesterday?
If so please repost it.
I have to leave in a few minutes.
Enron conspired to lower the prices charged by the friends of Herr Davis and Herr Lockliar.
Click here for yesterdays saga installment and the prices in post 8
I hope this is what you were looking for!
I wonder if California is self insured for errors, omissions, and acts beyond legal authority? I suppose Lockyer could go after Davis and then someone from Lockyer's office could defend Davis......
Not only does Davis have sufficient asset, but even getting a California kanagroo court verdict against Enron won't cause billions to flow into California, as Enron is in BANKRUPTCY COURT! I suppose that concept is too hard for Lockyer to fathom.
Oh, well it does make for interesting press and politics in an election year!
He doesn't care. This is about posturing for headlines piggybacking on national news both for himself and against both Bush and Arnold.
You've got that right.
Discovery and Depositions could be Interesting
TT
What a retard the AG IS,I hope the Bankruptcy Court tell Lockyer To late to file for any claims.
Compared to the players who setup the shortage over the prior twenty years, they were amateurs.
Well get in line Pal. There are only several thousand law suits ahead of yours and no money to pay any of the judgements that may come.
Does Enron? Looks like Calif will have to get behind a lot of ripped-off shareholders.
OK, the Seattle Intelligencer(?) is of the impression Enron is still an "energy giant". I'd thought it was pretty well reduced to a power plant in Portland OR.
"He doesn't care. This is about posturing for headlines piggybacking on national news both for himself and against both Bush and Arnold."
The conservative from the Santa Cruz area has nailed this down tight!
In a bankruptcy like Enron's, I am not sure that the shareholders will get anything. The shareholders best chance of getting money is out of any funds from crooked investment bankers and A. Anderson assests (if there are any). That would be outside the bankruptcy settlement and be a claim based on stockmarket fraud/damages.
I do think that California will need to get in line behind federal government tax obligations, employee payroll claims, retiree benefit claims, and suppliers of goods and services to Enron that were not paid for what they supplied to Enron. Those are the folks that the Bankruptcy judge is trying to find money for and that California is saying nope, not us!
Keep in mind that California never paid Enron for much of the electricity Enron was supposed to have "gouged".
So to answer your question, the money was probably spent by Gray Davis in trying to fend off the recall.
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