Houston – Enron Corp. former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, found guilty in May of directing a massive fraud at the energy trader, asked a judge to throw out his conviction, citing a successful appeal in another Enron case.
In a filing Tuesday in federal court, Skilling, 52, joined other convicted Enron executives in asking a trial judge to void his guilty verdict based on an August ruling by a U.S. appeals court in New Orleans.
Skilling’s request came as part of a motion to remain free pending an appeal he said he plans to file after sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 23.
Skilling told U.S. District Judge Sim Lake that his verdict should be thrown out because the jury may have relied on a prosecution claim that he deprived the company of “honest services,” a theory that caused the New Orleans court to overturn four other Enron-related convictions in August.
“The whole theory of deprivation of honest services is that I have a duty of loyalty to the company, yet I’m going out and doing something that hurts the company and benefits me personally,” said lawyer Barry Pollack, who successfully defended Michael Krautz, an Enron Broadband Services accountant. “With these Enron guys, it’s different. These individuals went out and did something they honestly believed was in the company’s best interest and what the company’s management at the highest level wanted done.”
Skilling, convicted of 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors gave jurors several scenarios under which they could find him guilty of defrauding Enron, which collapsed into bankruptcy in December 2001. Having deprived the company of his honest services was one. Deliberately deceiving investors was another.
Since the jury didn’t explain how it reached its guilty verdict, the fraud and conspiracy convictions were tainted by the possibility “honest services” played a part. Skilling argued that his entire conviction should be thrown out, using the logic the appeals court followed in August.
Four Merrill Lynch & Co. bankers won their appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans after judges there said the bankers didn’t deprive Enron of honest services. The defendants, convicted for their roles in the so-called Enron Nigerian barge case, couldn’t be found guilty under the theory because they tried to act in the company’s interest. If crimes were committed at Enron, the appeals court said, deprivation of honest services wasn’t among them.
