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America’s Corporate Fraud

Associated press reported three former British bankers who pleaded guilty for their roles in a fraudulent scheme with former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow were each sentenced Friday to three years and one month in prison, the three defendants each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Enron, once the nation's seventh-largest company, crumbled into bankruptcy in December 2001 after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The collapse wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans. Fastow falsely represented to Enron that the energy company would pay $20 million to Greenwich Nat West for its shares of the subsidiary, but the $20 million actually went to the British bankers, Fastow and others. The bankers got $7.3 million while Fastow, Kopper and others skimmed about $12.3 million, according to the plea deal. Fastow is serving a six-year sentence while Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling were convicted in 2006 for their roles in the company's collapse, he is serving a sentence of more than 24 years.