Jeffrey Skilling was convicted of conspiracy, fraud, and insider trading in Enron’s 2001 scandal.
Skilling joined Enron in 1990 and became its chief executive in February 2001. He resigned in August of that year, months before Enron filed for bankruptcy protection in December. Prosecutors argued that he helped create and maintain a culture of misleading financial reporting while presenting the company as exceptionally profitable.
A federal jury convicted Skilling in 2006 on multiple counts, including securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, and insider trading. He was initially sentenced to 24 years in prison; his sentence was later reduced, and he was released in 2019. The Supreme Court also overturned one specific conviction under a narrower interpretation of federal law.
Kenneth Lay, Enron’s founder and chairman, was convicted separately but died before sentencing. Andrew Fastow was Enron’s chief financial officer, not its chief executive. These roles are commonly confused because all three were central figures in the scandal.