Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling released from federal custody after 14 years
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Enron CEO Jeff Skilling was released from federal custody on Thursday afternoon.
Skilling was discharged after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house after being convicted for his actions that led to one of the worst corporate meltdowns in history.
The 65-year-old was initially sentenced in 2006 to 24 years in prison and fined $45 million for multiple counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes. In 2013, the sentence was reduced to 14 years.
Houston-based Enron collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 after years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks that put more than 5,000 people out of work, eliminated over $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless $60 billion in Enron stock.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.