Fraudsters Could Get Off The Hook
Jeff Skilling, Conrad Black; just lining up to enliven the free world with their presence once again…
The mastermind behind the collapse of energy giant Enron; Skilling, 56, was convicted in May 2006 of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors. The collapse of Enron precipitated the subsequent break-up of Big5 accounting firm Arthur Andersen. Skilling has since been serving time at a prison in Colorado, where he has apparently been teaching Spanish to fellow inmates. Nice chap. But now…
Reuters: On Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers for federal prisoner 29296-179 will take their last shot at shredding a lower court’s conviction that sentenced him to 24 years in jail. If Skilling succeeds, his sentence could be shortened or he could win a new trial.
If Skilling succeeds in overturning his conviction for depriving shareholders of his “honest services”, it may open the door for the release of other well known fraudsters…
The Times: …a move that could also lead to the release of Conrad Black, the jailed press baron.
Black, serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence, was prosecuted using the honest-services statute. His case, and a third involving the former Alaska legislator Bruce Weyhrauch, will also be reviewed by the Supreme Court before this summer. All three could appeal against their sentences and be released if the statute is thrown out.
Black was convicted of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in December 2007. He was acquitted of nine other counts, including racketeering and misuse of corporate perks. Even if the statute is thrown out, Black would still be guilty of obstruction of justice but a court could decide he had served that part of his sentence.
The moral of this story – if you’re going to do fraud make sure you end up rich enough to pay for some very good lawyers over a very long period of time.
