One of the bit players in the Enron Corp. melodrama was sentenced to two years probation on Monday for filing false income tax returns. Lawrence Lawyer, 38, who had once worked for Enron Broadband Services, faced up to three years in prison for failing to report $79,469 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Lawyer reportedly received the money over four years beginning in 1997 from ex-Enron executive Michael Kopper in what the prosecutors had called a kickback scheme related to RADR, one of Enron’s dubious special purpose entities.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, who passed the sentence in a 30-minute hearing, said that if it hadn’t been for the controversy caused by Enron, Lawyer’s case probably would not have made it to a courtroom. Hoyt imposed no fines; Lawyer could have been fined up to $250,000. Hoyt said Lawyer’s payment of the taxes owed and a donation Lawyer made with the money he was paid to an ex-Enron employee fund were adequate restitution.

Lawyer pleaded guilty in November 2002 and agreed to cooperate with the Enron Task Force (see Daily GPI, Nov. 27, 2002). He is one of 14 ex-Enron executives expected to be sentenced before the end of the year.

Former Chief Accountant Richard Causey, who pleaded guilty to securities fraud in December and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, will be sentenced to up to seven years in prison on Aug. 17 (see Daily GPI, Dec. 29, 2005). Ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, who also pleaded guilty in exchange for a deal, will be sentenced Aug. 28 to up to 10 years in prison (see Daily GPI, Jan. 15, 2004).

Kopper, who will be sentenced Sept. 22, pleaded guilty in August 2002 to two counts of felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering (see Daily GPI, Aug. 22, 2002). Kopper agreed to forfeit $15 million, and he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy, and ex-CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23 (see Daily GPI, May 26). They could receive decades in prison.

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