Andrew S. Fastow, the 40-year-old former CFO of Enron, was indicted Thursday on 78 counts that accuse him of leading the effort to conceal the company’s losses and debts, as well as inflate the former energy merchant’s trading profits. The indictment accuses Fastow of securities fraud and other criminal charges. Federal prosecutors previously had filed a criminal complaint, charging him with fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.

If convicted, Fastow could be sentenced to prison for several years and be fined millions of dollars. The indictment was returned by a Houston federal grand jury, which has been meeting secretly for months downtown. Fastow, who surrendered to authorities in Houston on Oct. 2, remains free on $5 million bond. He is the most prominent Enron executives to be accused of illegal actions in the accounting scandal thus far.

San Francisco attorney John W. Keker, who is representing Fastow, said, “These charges are full of sound and fury, but the truth about Enron has yet to be told. When that truth is told to a jury of 12 honest Americans, Andy Fastow will be set free.”

Former executive Michael Kopper, who worked in Enron’s global finance department under Fastow’s direction, already has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities. He will be sentenced in April 2003. Also, Timothy Belden, an energy trader based in California, has pleaded guilty to manipulating the energy markets in California (see Daily GPI, Oct. 18).

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