Defunct

The former chief of Enron Corp.’s once-touted broadband unit and one of the defunct company’s top traders was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison. Kenneth Rice, the last of 15 ex-Enron executives who pleaded guilty to various crimes, also was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit $13 million in cash and property to the government.

Defunct hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC, which last year lost more than $6 billion in bad bets on the natural gas market, agreed to pay $716,819 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it sold securities short in offerings and covered its positions by buying securities in the offerings, the SEC said last week. The penalty amount breaks down to $150,000 for a civil penalty, $507,627 in disgorgement and $59,192 in prejudgment interest. Amaranth, which is based in Greenwich, CT, neither admitted nor denied the charges. “In connection with five follow-on offerings conducted between November 2004 and February 2005, Amaranth sold securities short during the five business days before the pricing of those offerings and then covered the short positions with securities purchased in the offerings (‘offering shares’),” the SEC said. “These transactions violated Rule 105 of Regulation M, and resulted in funds advised by Amaranth making profits of $507,627.” Companies with shares involved in the Amaranth transactions are Coeur D’Alene Mines Corp., Catapult Communications Corp., Cleco Corp., MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and American Superconductor Corp. Amaranth told investors that the penalty is unrelated to its natural gas trading activities. Amaranth’s bad bets in the natural gas market first came to light in September (see NGI, Sept. 25).

Defunct hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC, which last year lost more than $6 billion in bad bets on the natural gas market, agreed to pay $716,819 to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it sold securities short in offerings and covered its positions by buying securities in the offerings, the SEC said Wednesday.

Indigenous Global Development Corp. (IGDC), a defunct Native American financing company with purported energy deals that would help enrich tribes in the United States, faces charges of fraud, according to a filing Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Indigeous Global Development Corp.(IGDC), a defunct Native American financing company with purported energy deals that would help enrich tribes in the United States, faces charges of fraud, according to in a filing Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Citing the demands of overseeing Enron Corp.’s complex bankruptcy, the directors who now run the defunct company voted pay increases for themselves that have at least doubled their compensation, and in one case, increased the pay sixfold.

Citing the demands of overseeing Enron Corp.’s complex bankruptcy, the directors who now run the defunct company voted pay increases for themselves that have at least doubled their compensation, and in one case, increased the pay sixfold.

Its close-to-defunct risk management business, plus its former communications business and litigation costs, tacked on another large loss for Dynegy Inc.’s second quarter. The company Friday reported a net loss of $290 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, $240 million of which were connected with its former businesses.

In responding to a complaint from British Columbia-based Powerex to have its collateral returned, the defunct and bankruptcy-restricted California Power Exchange (Cal-PX) fired back last Tuesday asking FERC to set generic guidelines on the distribution of nearly $1 billion in collateral from about 30 energy merchant sector participants that is held under Cal-PX’s caretaker administration. Cal-PX has made this same request in two other individual collateral cases brought before the Powerex one.