The architect of one of the biggest corporate frauds in US history was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison, four years less than the maximum allowed under a plea deal the former Enron chief financial officer made with prosecutors.
HOUSTON (Texas): The architect of one of the biggest corporate frauds in US history was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison, four years less than the maximum allowed under a plea deal the former Enron chief financial officer made with prosecutors.
Andrew Fastow will also serve two years under supervision, US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled.
Fastow cried as he asked the judge for leniency and said he accepted his punishment "without bitterness." Fastow also turned to the lone shareholder who came to testify against him and offered an apology.
"I cannot undo the harm I have caused," Fastow told the court, adding that he was ashamed of what he had done.
Once vilified as the architect of all things evil at Enron, Fastow worked tirelessly to help prosecutors go after other top executives who refused to admit wrongdoing.
His testimony and evidence proved critical in obtaining the convictions of Enron founder Kenneth Lay and chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, prosecutor John Hueston told the court.
"He allowed the United States to bring jurors inside the executive suite," Hueston said.
Fastow worked in excess of 1,000 hours to help prosecutors "untangle the web" of schemes and false statements and proved to be a "credible, contrite and truthful" witness who was "unflappable and consistent in his recollections," Hueston said.
"I witnessed a man who was truly repentant," Hueston said, although he did not recommend a reduced sentence.
Thousands of people lost their jobs and life savings when Enron collapsed in 2001 with an estimated 40 billion dollars in debt, hidden through complicated investment schemes obscured in the Houston-based energy company's financial statements.
The bankruptcy, then the largest in history, rattled stock and energy markets and undermined public confidence in corporations.
Enron founder Lay, 64, died of a heart attack in July while awaiting sentencing. He proclaimed his innocence to the end and his family is trying to have his conviction overturned. Skilling will be sentenced on October 23 and faces up to 185 years in jail.
Fastow was immediately remanded into custody despite a request by both prosecutors and his lawyers to allow him to observe the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur with his family and to continue to assist with civil lawsuits against Enron. He was allowed to hug his wife in court before he was taken away in handcuffs.
Three lawyers from the shareholder lawsuits testified on Fastow's behalf and said their cases against Enron would be hindered if Fastow were jailed before October 23.
Hoyt agreed to recommend that Fastow be remanded to a jail that offered a drug treatment program because he had become addicted to anti-anxiety medication.
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