Kenneth Lay
Former chairman and CEO of Enron Corporation (1942-2006)
- Entries
- 10
- On the record
- 3
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Jul 6, 2006
The record
Kenneth Lay's own record runs from federal energy posts in the early 1970s to the chair of Enron. After work as a technical assistant at the Federal Power Commission, he became Deputy Undersecretary of Energy at the Interior Department in 1972. He took over Houston Natural Gas as chairman and chief executive in 1984, and after its 1985 merger with InterNorth he was named chairman and chief executive of the combined company, renamed Enron, the Handbook of Texas records.
Enron filed for bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, and Lay resigned as chief executive the following January. A July 2002 report of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that he had approved a waiver of Enron's conflict-of-interest rules so the finance chief, Andrew Fastow, could run the LJM partnerships, and faulted the board for failing to monitor his use of a company-financed credit line. In July 2004 the SEC charged him with fraud and insider trading.
He was convicted in 2006 on six charges and on four further bank fraud charges. He died near Aspen, Colorado, on July 5, 2006, before he was sentenced; prosecutors had been seeking $43.5 million in assets and fines, Slate reported. His convictions were then set aside under the rule that voids the convictions of defendants who die before their appeals are exhausted. The FBI's account of the Enron investigation records 22 people convicted in all.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
A jury found Lay guilty of conspiracy and fraud; he had pleaded not guilty. Biggest celebrity frauds ranked: Ebbers's $11B WorldCom first
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 1984 Reported Lay became chairman and chief executive of Houston Natural Gas at age 42. Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas entry
- 1986-02 Reported After Houston Natural Gas announced its merger with InterNorth in May 1985, Lay was named chairman and chief executive of the combined company, which was renamed Enron and based in Houston. Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas entry
- 2001-12-02 Official Enron filed for bankruptcy, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recorded. U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, S. Prt. 107-70
- 2002-01-23 Reported Lay resigned as Enron's chief executive, weeks after the bankruptcy filing. Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas entry
- 2002-07-08 Official A Senate subcommittee report found that Lay, as chairman and chief executive, approved a waiver of Enron's conflict-of-interest rules so Andrew Fastow could run the LJM partnerships, and that the board failed to monitor his use of a company-financed personal credit line. U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, The Role of the Board of Directors in Enron's Collapse
- 2004-07-08 Filed The SEC charged Lay with fraud and insider trading, alleging he took part in a scheme to falsify Enron's results and generated over $90 million in unlawful proceeds in 2001, including about $70 million from selling stock back to the company to repay credit line advances. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press release 2004-94
- 2006 Ruled Lay was convicted on six charges and on four further bank fraud charges. Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas entry
- 2006-07-05 Reported Lay died near Aspen, Colorado, while awaiting sentencing. His convictions were later set aside under federal guidelines that void the convictions of those who die before their appeals are exhausted. Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas entry
- 2006-07-06 Reported Prosecutors had been seeking $43.5 million in assets and fines, and his death before the October sentencing could spare his estate that sum, Slate reported. Slate explainer