The federal judge who sentenced ex-Dynegy Inc. accountant Jamie Olis to 24 years in prison last month was asked by the defense to reconsider.

Olis, 38, was sentenced in Houston after his conviction last year by a jury on securities fraud and other charges related to Dynegy’s Project Alpha (see NGI, March 29). Olis was senior director of tax planning when Alpha was undertaken in early 2001, and later was promoted to vice president of finance.

Judge Sim Lake sentenced Olis to 292 months (about 24 years) in prison. In doing so, he considered a recommendation from probation officials who, according to court documents, concluded the correct application of federal sentencing guidelines called for Olis to serve 292 months to 365 months. The sentencing guidelines relate to Dynegy’s loss is stock value.

Two other ex-Dynegy executives — including Olis’ former boss — who were indicted with Olis on the same charges, struck plea bargains with prosecutors. Their sentences are pending, and each faces a maximum of five years.

In the motion before the court, Olis’ new attorney David Gerger wrote, “I did not represent Mr. Olis at trial. Regardless whether he could have settled this case, he now faces a 19-plus year penalty for going to trial…We respectfully suggest that such a disparity — with his co-defendants and with others convicted of frauds — not only is too much for this case but poses a threat to the integrity of the judicial system in general.”

The motion requested that Lake reconsider granting a “downward departure” from the guideline range for Olis’ sentence. Gerger said he would be representing Olis in his appeal of the conviction and the sentence.

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