A federal jury found former Enron chief executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling guilty of fraud and conspiracy on 25 May 2006, capping a four-month trial that centered on one of the largest corporate collapses in US history.
Skilling, 52, was convicted on 19 of 28 counts and could face up to 185 years in prison. Lay, 64 and the company's founder, was found guilty on all six counts he faced, plus separate federal bank fraud charges, leaving him exposed to a maximum sentence of 165 years.
The jury reached its verdict after six days of deliberations. Enron's 2001 implosion wiped out an estimated 40 billion dollars in concealed debt that the company had obscured through irregular accounting and complex financial instruments.
The White House welcomed the outcome, with spokesman Tony Snow telling reporters the administration has "no tolerance for corporate corruption" and would pursue similar cases aggressively.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.