The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lost a bid to collect close to $4 million from the estate of former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay and his wife Linda. Kenneth Lay, 64, died of a heart attack in July 2006, six weeks after he was convicted on 10 fraud and conspiracy counts (see Daily GPI, July 6, 2006; May 26, 2006). The tax case dated to Sept. 21, 2001, when the Lays sold $10 million in annuities to Enron as part of an agreement for Kenneth Lay to retake the CEO position, which had been vacated by Jeffrey Skilling a month earlier. The agreement with Enron at the time stipulated that the annuities would be returned to Lay if he worked a 4.25-year term. However, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection less than three months later (see Daily GPI, June 21; May 3, 2006). The IRS contested the Lays’ contention in their 2006 tax filing that the annuities were sold to Enron for no monetary gain; in 2009 the IRS filed a notice of tax deficiency for $3.9 million. U.S. Tax Court Judge Joseph Goeke disagreed, ruling that the Lays’ transactions were legitimate and neither of the Lays nor the estate received any distributions or death benefit from the annuity.
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Newfield Exploration Co. President and COO David F. Schaible, 46, died Saturday following a brief battle with cancer. He leaves his wife Tina and four children. CEO David A. Trice, who will assume the role of president, said Schaible joined the company when it was founded in 1988, and he joined the board of directors in 2002. When he joined Newfield at the age of 28, Schaible was the youngest member of the founding group of employees. He served as executive vice president, Operations and Acquisitions from November 2004 through July. He also served as vice president, Acquisitions and Development from 1995-2004; manager, Acquisitions and Development from 1992-1995; coordinator, Acquisitions and Marketing from 1991-1992; and as petroleum engineer from 1989 to 1991. Before joining Newfield, Schaible was senior production engineer in the Eastern Gulf Division of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production Co. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering from Marietta College, GA. He also was active in the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Lea Fastow Released from Prison
Lea Fastow, wife of the former Enron Corp. CFO Andrew Fastow, was released from a halfway house in Houston just after midnight Friday, ending a year in prison for failing to declare some of her husband’s profits as income.
Lea Fastow Pleads Guilty, to Serve One Year in Federal Prison
Lea Fastow, wife of the former Enron CFO, pleaded guilty Thursday in a Houston courtroom to one misdemeanor charge for filing a fraudulent tax return. She will serve one year in federal prison and one year of supervision after she is released.
Lea Fastow Pleads Guilty, to Serve One Year in Federal Prison
Lea Fastow, wife of the former Enron CFO, pleaded guilty Thursday in a Houston courtroom to one misdemeanor charge. She will serve one year in federal prison and one year of supervision after she is released.
New Deal for Lea Fastow Drops Six Felony Charges to One Misdemeanor
Lea Fastow, a former Enron Corp. assistant treasurer and wife of the infamous Andrew Fastow, who was facing a trial in Brownsville, TX in June on two counts of felony conspiracy and four counts of filing fax income tax statements, instead will likely plead guilty on Thursday (May 6) to one misdemeanor tax charge.
Judge Rejects Lea Fastow Plea Agreement
Despite urging by the prosecution team, U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston Wednesday rejected a plea agreement for Lea Fastow, the wife of former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow. Lea Fastow withdrew her guilty plea after Hittner, who would not tell her what his sentence would be, insisted that she decide whether to take the sentence or not.
Judge Rejects Lea Fastow Plea Agreement
Despite urging by the prosecution team, U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston Wednesday rejected a plea agreement for Lea Fastow, the wife of former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow. Lea Fastow withdrew her guilty plea after Hittner, who would not tell her what his sentence would be, insisted that she decide whether to take the sentence or not.
