Criminal case

United States v. Jeffrey K. Skilling, Kenneth L. Lay and Richard A. Causey

Authority: US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, appeals to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States
Case number: Cr. No. H-04-0025
Filed or opened: 2004
Organization: Enron Corporation
Current stage: Skilling convicted and sentence final after a 2013 resentencing^S1^S3. Lay's conviction vacated and indictment dismissed on 17 October 2006^S4.
Outcome: Skilling conviction and 168 month sentence final, released in 2019. Lay case abated on his death.

Decisions and steps

25 May 2006Jury convicts Skilling and Lay^S1
17 October 2006Lay conviction vacated and indictment dismissed^S4
23 October 2006Skilling sentenced to 24 years and four months^S2
24 June 2010Supreme Court narrows honest-services theory and remands^S5
21 June 2013Skilling resentenced to 168 months^S3

Claims this case bears on

Supported96
A May 2006 DOJ release said a federal jury convicted former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling on 19 of the 28 counts he faced, covering conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and false statements to auditors.
Government press release, 25 May 20062 records citedFraud
Outdated94
A May 2006 DOJ release said a federal jury convicted Enron founder Kenneth Lay on all six counts he faced at the Houston trial.
Government press release, 25 May 20062 records citedFraud
Supported93
The Supreme Court held in Skilling v. United States, decided 24 June 2010, that the honest-services fraud statute reaches only bribery and kickback schemes and that Skilling's conduct fell outside it.
Court filing, 24 June 20101 record citedFraud

Sources

S1Tier A Federal Jury Convicts Former Enron Chief Executives Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling On Fraud, Conspiracy And Related ChargesUS Department of Justice. Government press release. 25 May 2006.Supports the jury convictions of Skilling on 19 of 28 counts and Lay on all six trial counts. It does not cover later appeals or the vacatur of Lay's conviction.
S4Tier A United States of America v. Kenneth L. Lay, Memorandum and Order (Cr. No. H-04-0025)US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Court judgment. 17 October 2006.Supports the vacatur of Lay's conviction and dismissal of the indictment under the abatement rule after his death. It is the primary court order on abatement.
S2Tier A Former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling Sentenced to More Than 24 Years in Prison on Fraud, Conspiracy ChargesUS Department of Justice. Government press release. 23 October 2006.Supports the original sentence of 24 years and four months and a forfeiture order. It predates the later resentencing.
S5Tier A Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (No. 08-1394)Supreme Court of the United States. Court judgment. 24 June 2010.Supports the holding that the honest-services statute reaches only bribery and kickback schemes and that the judgment was affirmed in part, vacated in part and remanded. It did not reverse the convictions.
S3Tier A Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling Resentenced to 168 Months for Fraud, Conspiracy ChargesUS Department of Justice. Government press release. 21 June 2013.Supports the resentencing to 168 months, the forfeiture of about $42 million and that the Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions but vacated the first sentence.