Enron man jailed for fraud role

Causey was one of 16 Enron staff to have pleaded guilty

Former Enron executive Richard Causey has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years for his role in the massive fraud which brought down the energy company.

Causey, the firm's chief accounting officer at the time, pleaded guilty last year to making false statements about Enron's finances.

He is the last of Enron's former senior management to be sentenced.

Ex-chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was jailed for 24 years while ex-chairman Ken Lay died after being convicted.

Some leniency

Lay's conviction was subsequently overturned after a judge ruled that his death meant that he had had no opportunity to appeal.

Former finance director Andrew Fastow, who gave evidence against Skilling and Lay at their trial, was jailed for six years.

Causey admitted last year to turning a blind eye to fraudulent accounting practices at Enron, which saddled the company with a mountain of debt and led to its eventual collapse.

Thousands of staff lost their jobs and pension investments as a result.

Under the terms of his guilty plea, Causey agreed to serve seven years but this was reduced after prosecutors said his level of co-operation merited some leniency.

As part of his settlement, Causey has agreed to pay $1.25m to the government.