Another former Enron executive is headed to prison.
David Delainey, who ran the company’s retail energy unit, Enron Energy Services, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after previously pleading guilty to insider trading, said the Associated Press. Before joining EES, Delainey ran Enron’s wholesale trading franchise
In October 2003, Delainey pled guilty to participating in schemes to manipulate earnings to make Enron’s financial performance look better than it was in reality, apparently as a way to boost the stock price, said the wire service. Delainey was accused of selling $4.25 million in stock throughout 2001 when he was aware of the scheme, added AP. “I just want to say I’m so very sorry for my conduct,” Delainey told U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, according to the Houston Chronicle. “I’ve done everything in my power to right the wrong.”
Delainey faced as much as 10 years in prison, reported AP. In February, however, the executive testified during the trial of former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling noting that he reluctantly agreed to participate in a plan approved by Skilling to hide $200 million in losses. Because of this cooperation, prosecutors recommended that Delainey receive a sentence on the lower end of the sentencing guideline range.
The Chronicle pointed out that Delainey had previously handed over his $4.2 million in illegal trading profits to the Justice Department, as well as $3 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Delainey, who was immediately ordered to go into Federal custody, was described by the paper as showing little emotion when a U.S. marshal took him into custody.