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Andy Fastow

2004

January 6, 2004
Enron's roadmap for emerging from bankruptcy receives a New York judge's initial blessing and will be sent to creditors to accept or reject the plan that will pay them a fraction of what they are owed.

January 14, 2004
Former CFO Andrew Fastow and wife Lea plead guilty.

Andrew, who faced 98 counts, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one charge of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud. Fastow agreed to serve 10 years in prison; forfeit 23.8 million dollars, including homes in Galveston and Vermont; and forfeit claims on another six million dollars held by third parties. He is cooperating with the Enron task force in ongoing investigations.

Lea Fastow pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax report for failing to report 47,800 dollars in income on her 2000 personal taxes, part of more than 204,000 dollars undeclared over four years. She is given a one-year prison sentence.

February 19, 2004
Named in a 35-count indictment, former CEO Jeff Skilling pleads not guilty to wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and making false statements on financial reports. He's the highest-ranking Enron executive to face criminal charges in the energy giant's downfall. Charges against former Chief Accounting Officer Richard Causey also expanded in the indictment to 31 counts.

May 18, 2004
Paula Rieker, former director of investor relations and secretary for Enron's board of directors, pleads guilty to one felony count of insider trading and agrees to pay the SEC the 499,333-dollar profit she netted by selling Enron stock before the public knew about big losses at Enron's Internet business. CEO Ken Lay is escorted into the courthouse in handcuffs.

July 8, 2004
Indicted on 11 criminal counts of fraud and making misleading statements, Enron's highest-ranking executive, Ken Lay, surrenders to the FBI. After pleading not guilty, he calls a news conference to proclaim his innocence and argue that while he takes responsibility for Enron's failure, only a "superman" could know everything that happens at his company. "It has been a tragic day for me and my family,'' Lay says.

July 30, 2004
Ken Rice, former co-CEO of Enron Broadband Services, pleads guilty to a single count of securities fraud.

August 25, 2004
Mark Koenig, the former head of Enron's Investor Relations section, pleads guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting securities fraud and agrees to cooperate with the government.

August 28, 2004
Kevin Hannon, former chief operating officer for Enron Broadband Services, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.

October 5, 2004
Timothy Despain, former assistant treasurer at Enron, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud by lying to credit rating agencies.

November 3, 2004
Enron’s first criminal trial ends. Former Enron accountant Sheila Kahnek is acquitted. Former Vice President Dan Boyle and four former Merrill Lynch bankers are convicted of conspiracy and fraud in the Nigerian barge deal.

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