Former Enron chairperson and chief executive Kenneth Lay, awaiting sentencing after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges, has died, United States media reported on Wednesday.
”Ken Lay passed away early this morning in Aspen,” said a family statement read out on CNN. ”The Lays have a very large family with whom they need to communicate and out of respect for the family we will release no further details at this time.”
CNBC television said Lay died of a heart attack at a family home in Aspen, Colorado.
Lay (64) and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling (52) were convicted in May of setting up an elaborate scheme to deceive investors over Enron’s crumbling finances prior to what was then the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history.
Sentencing for Lay and Skilling had been set for October 23 after their conviction on May 25 in a trial culminating a four-year investigation into one of the biggest corporate scandals of recent history.
A prominent Republican fund-raiser, Lay was found guilty of six fraud and conspiracy charges, and federal bank fraud charges in a separate trial. He faced a maximum of 165 years in jail.
Born on April 15 1942 to a poor Missouri family, Lay worked his way up in the ranks of business and founded Enron in the 1980s from the merger of two pipeline companies.
He remained chief executive except for a brief period in 2001, and then took back the post of CEO until the company’s bankruptcy filing later that year.
Lay developed ties with former president George Bush, played golf with president Bill Clinton, and contributed generously to President George Bush’s 2000 campaign, as well as his earlier campaign for Texas governor in 1993. — AFP
