Judge vacates conviction of late Enron founder

A federal judge today vacated the conviction of Enron founder Kenneth Lay who died in July, wiping out a jury’s verdict that he committed fraud and conspiracy in the months before his company’s collapse.

Lay was convicted of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases.

Enron’s collapse in 2001 wiped out thousands of jobs, more than 60 billion in market value and more than 2 billion in pension plans.

Lay died of heart disease while vacationing with his wife, Linda, in Aspen, Colorado.

US District Judge Sim Lake, in a ruling today, agreed with Lay’s lawyers that his death required erasing his convictions.

They cited a 2004 ruling from the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals that found that a defendant’s death pending appeal extinguished his entire case because he hadn’t had a full opportunity to challenge the conviction and the government shouldn’t be able to punish a dead defendant or his estate.

His co-defendant, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.