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Two for one? - JR
Ex-Enron Asst Treasurer Strikes Plea Deal
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Tuesday October 5, 8:45 PM EDT By Matt Daily HOUSTON (Reuters) - A former Enron Corp. (ENRNQ) assistant treasurer pleaded guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for disguising the company's weak finances before its dramatic collapse. Timothy Despain, who served as assistant treasurer at the disgraced energy conglomerate between January 1999 and May 2002, admitted in an agreement with prosecutors he lied to credit ratings agencies to manipulate the company's credit rating. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he could serve up to five years in prison in connection with the charges and face a fine of $250,000. Under Despain's cooperation agreement, prosecutors agreed they would bring no further criminal charges for his "disclosed participation in criminal activity in which he engaged in his capacity as an officer or employee of Enron and Halliburton," the cooperation agreement said.
The head of the Enron task force, Andrew Weissmann, declined to comment on whether Despain had engaged in any criminal activities at Halliburton Co. (HAL), where Despain was employed after his stint at Enron, or whether the oil services company was a part of the investigation. In an email message, Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall denied Halliburton is being investigated over Despain's work and responded to questions about Despain by saying: "This has nothing to do with Halliburton." She said Despain is no longer employed by Halliburton. Despain is the 14th former Enron employee to plead guilty in the government's prosecution of wrongdoing at the company, which collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2001 after billions of dollars in hidden debt was uncovered. In a hearing Tuesday evening before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr., Despain said he conspired with former Enron treasurers Ben Glisan and Jeff McMahon, as well as the company's chief accounting officer and others in the schemes to prop up the company in the eyes of the rating agencies. Glisan was sentenced to five years in prison last September for conspiracy related to crimes at Enron. McMahon, who also served as Enron's chief financial officer, has not been charged with any crimes. Despain's testimony could give prosecutors more ammunition in their case against former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay, former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling and former Chief Accounting Officer Richard Causey, who are facing charges of conspiracy, fraud and manipulating the company's books. Those three have pleaded not guilty to charges against them. Their trial dates have not been set. (Additional reporting by Deepa Babington in New York) �2004 Reuters Limited. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om |
