HOUSTON (AFX) -- A federal judge dismissed three counts against former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling and one count against company founder Kenneth Lay as the government brought its case to a close Tuesday.
Citing reasons of 'economy,' federal prosecutors requested that Judge Sim Lake dismiss two charges of securities fraud and one charge of lying to auditors from the indictment against Skilling.
Judge Lake also dismissed one charge of securities fraud against Lay.
The judge subsequently denied a motion by the defense team to acquit the former executives of the more than 30 remaining counts of fraud and conspiracy charges.
Over the past nine weeks of trial in a Houston federal courthouse, the government has sought to convince jurors that Skilling and Lay knowingly misled investors about the company's financial state while enriching themselves by selling millions of dollars worth of stock, leading to what was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The parade of witnesses included former financial chief Andrew Fastow, the mastermind behind a complex set of accounting schemes designed to hide the company's ailing finances, and former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan.
Fastow was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to hiding millions of dollars in company debt in a maze of accounts and pocketing a few for himself. Glisan is currently serving a 5-year sentence for his role in the fraud and is expected to be released this fall.
The defense team for Lay and Skilling is scheduled to begin making its case on Monday. The two are expected to argue that the only crimes were committed by a few rogue individuals who set out to steal millions from the company. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
Citing reasons of 'economy,' federal prosecutors requested that Judge Sim Lake dismiss two charges of securities fraud and one charge of lying to auditors from the indictment against Skilling.
Judge Lake also dismissed one charge of securities fraud against Lay.
The judge subsequently denied a motion by the defense team to acquit the former executives of the more than 30 remaining counts of fraud and conspiracy charges.
Over the past nine weeks of trial in a Houston federal courthouse, the government has sought to convince jurors that Skilling and Lay knowingly misled investors about the company's financial state while enriching themselves by selling millions of dollars worth of stock, leading to what was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The parade of witnesses included former financial chief Andrew Fastow, the mastermind behind a complex set of accounting schemes designed to hide the company's ailing finances, and former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan.
Fastow was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to hiding millions of dollars in company debt in a maze of accounts and pocketing a few for himself. Glisan is currently serving a 5-year sentence for his role in the fraud and is expected to be released this fall.
The defense team for Lay and Skilling is scheduled to begin making its case on Monday. The two are expected to argue that the only crimes were committed by a few rogue individuals who set out to steal millions from the company. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.