A Houston federal grand jury has charged former Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay with an unknown number of crimes today under a sealed indictment. The indictment will be unsealed in a hearing tomorrow morning, at which time Mr. Lay is expected to make his initial appearance in the criminal case. At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to charge Mr. Lay with an assortment of civil securities fraud charges.
Mr. Lay served as Enron’s chief executive for 15 years and was running the company when it collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2001. The indictment is expected to charge Mr. Lay for his alleged role in a broad scheme to manipulate Enron’s financial statements, similar to the charges that are pending against former Enron CEO and COO, Jeffrey Skilling and former chief Enron accountant, Richard Causey. Assuming that the indictment is as broad as the one against Messrs. Skilling and Causey, Mr. Lay will be facing what amounts to a life sentence in prison.
Meanwhile, this NY Times piece provides a good overview of the going concern liquidation of Enron’s assets that has been taking place in the company’s chapter 11 case.