Former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow will be sentenced today.
Over two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty for his participation in the Enron collapse, Fastow is expected to be given a 10-year sentence by the judge - a sentence the former chief financial officer previously agreed to. The judge cannot increase his sentence but could reduce it.
Enron, once America's seventh-largest company, crumbled into bankruptcy
in December 2001 after years of creative accounting could no longer hide billions in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable.
The collapse wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans.
Fastow (44) agreed to serve a maximum 10-year term when he pleaded guilty in 2004.
He was originally indicted on 98 counts, including fraud, insider trading and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, admitting to running various schemes to hide Enron debt and inflate profits while enriching himself. He also surrendered nearly $30 million in cash and property.
His cooperation helped prosecutors secure the convictions of Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling.
At their trial, Fastow testified Lay and Skilling were aware of fraudulent financial structures engineered by Fastow and his staff.
Skilling and Lay were convicted in May of conspiracy and fraud. Lay's lawyers are working to erase his convictions since his July 5th death from heart disease. Skilling is to be sentenced next month.