Criminal Prosecution

Allen Weisselberg Pleads Guilty to 15 Felonies, Agrees to Testify Against Trump Organization

| Importance: 8/10

Allen Weisselberg, the longtime Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization who served the company for nearly five decades, pleaded guilty in New York state court to 15 felony counts related to a 15-year tax fraud scheme, admitting he failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in income including …

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Skilling Sentence Reduced to 14 Years, Marking Accountability Erosion

| Importance: 9/10

On June 21, 2013, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake approved a deal reducing former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s prison sentence from 24 years to 14 years—a 10-year reduction that symbolized the erosion of corporate accountability in the decade following the Enron prosecutions. The sentence …

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Jeffrey Skilling Sentenced to 24 Years for Enron Fraud

| Importance: 10/10

On October 23, 2006, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to 24 years and four months in federal prison for his role in the Enron fraud, representing one of the harshest sentences ever imposed on a corporate executive. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake also ordered Skilling to forfeit …

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Ken Lay Dies Before Sentencing, Conviction Later Vacated

| Importance: 9/10

On July 5, 2006, Kenneth Lay died of a heart attack at his vacation home in Aspen, Colorado, just six weeks after being convicted on all six counts of fraud and conspiracy in the Enron scandal. Lay, 64, was pronounced dead at Aspen Valley Hospital at 3:11 a.m. A preliminary autopsy reported he died …

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Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling Convicted of Enron Fraud and Conspiracy

| Importance: 10/10

On May 25, 2006, a federal jury convicted Enron founder Kenneth Lay on all six counts of fraud and conspiracy, and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling on 19 of 28 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. The verdicts marked a watershed moment in corporate accountability, holding top …

Kenneth Lay Jeffrey Skilling Department of Justice corporate-fraud enron criminal-prosecution securities-fraud corporate-accountability
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WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

| Importance: 10/10

On July 13, 2005, former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for orchestrating the largest corporate accounting fraud in American history. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones in Manhattan, represented one of the harshest penalties ever …

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Enron Founder Ken Lay Indicted on 11 Counts of Fraud and Conspiracy

| Importance: 9/10

On July 7, 2004, a federal grand jury indicted Enron founder and former CEO Kenneth Lay on 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to banks. The indictment charged that Lay repeatedly lied to investors, employees, and federal regulators about Enron’s …

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Arthur Andersen Indicted for Obstruction of Justice in Enron Scandal

| Importance: 10/10

On March 14, 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of Arthur Andersen LLP on one count of obstruction of justice for destroying “literally tons of paper documents and other electronic information” related to the Enron collapse. The indictment, handed down by a …

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