By Thom Weidlich and Laurel Brubaker Calkins
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Jeffrey Skilling, Enron Corp.'s former chief executive officer, was sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison for his role in the securities fraud that led to the energy trader's collapse.
U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake sentenced Skilling today at a hearing in Houston after listening to testimony of seven victims of the Enron fraud. The judge recommended that Skilling start his term at a prison in Butner, North Carolina, at a date to be set later. He denied a U.S. request that Skilling be jailed immediately. Skilling, 52, faced a range of 24 to 30 years in prison under advisory federal sentencing guidelines.``Mr. Skilling and his attorneys argue that the guideline range would be tantamount to life in prison,'' the judge said after hearing a defense request for seven to 10 years. ``But as the many victims of his crime have so poignantly explained, his crimes have imposed on them a life sentence of poverty.''
Under Skilling, Enron, once the seventh-biggest U.S. company by sales, had a market value of more than $68 billion before its bankruptcy in December 2001 wiped out more than 5,000 jobs and at least $1 billion in retirement funds. It was the second-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, after WorldCom Inc.'s collapse in July 2002. Enron investors claim they lost $30 billion.
Lake denied Skilling's request to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction. He said Skilling must wear an electronic monitor as he awaits prison. Federal officials have to approve the judge's choice of prisons.
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