Ex-Enron CEO Lay Indicted for Scheme

HOUSTON – Former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was involved in a wide-ranging scheme to deceive the public, company shareholders and government regulators about the energy company that he founded and led to industry prominence before its collapse in 2001, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

The federal indictment adds Lay to charges already filed against his hand-picked protege, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and former top accountant Richard Causey.

It accuses Lay of participating in a conspiracy to manipulate Enron Corp.’s quarterly financial results, of making public statements about Enron’s financial performance that were false and misleading and omitting facts necessary to make financial statements accurate and fair.

The contents of the indictment were released a few hours after Lay was taken away in handcuffs after turning himself in to the FBI Thursday morning to face criminal charges.

The indictment of Lay, 62, who also was Enron’s chairman, caps an investigation that snared dozens of other employees and executives but took nearly three years to reach the man at the top.