Before its collapse, Enron marketed electricity and natural gas, delivered energy and

other physical commodities, and provided financial and risk management services to
customers around the world.
Facts:
Most of the top executives were tried for fraud after it was revealed in November 2001
that Enron's earnings had been overstated by several hundred million dollars.
Enron was once ranked the sixth-largest energy company in the world.
Enron shares were worth $90.75 at their peak in August 2000 and dropped to $0.67 in
January 2002.
Top Enron executives sold their company stock prior to the company's downfall.

Lower-level employees were prevented from selling their stock due to 401k restrictions and
many subsequently lost their life savings.

Enron paid the top 140 executives $680 million in 2001. Kenneth Lay received $67.4 million
and Jeffrey Skilling received $41.8 million.

Timeline:
July 1985 - Enron is formed by the merger of Houston Natural Gas and Omaha-based
InterNorth.

2000 - Enron reaches No. 7 on the Fortune 500 list.

August 14, 2001 - Skilling resigns as CEO, and Lay becomes CEO again. (He had been
CEO from 1985-2000.)

August 15, 2001 - Sherron Watkins sends a memo to Lay about accounting issues.

October 16, 2001 - Enron announces a third-quarter loss of $618 million.

October 31, 2001 - The SEC opens a formal investigation into Enron's transactions.

November 9, 2001 - Enron and Dynegy announce a $7.8 billion merger agreement. It
would form Dynegy Corp, in which Dynegy would own 64% and Enron 36%.

November 28, 2001 - Dynegy announces it has terminated merger talks with Enron.

December 2, 2001 - Enron files for Chapter 11 protection, becoming the largest bankruptcy
in US history at that time and leaving thousands of workers with worthless stock.

January 9, 2002 - The US Department of Justice opens a criminal investigation into Enron's
collapse.

January 11, 2002 - The SEC widens its investigation to include Enron's chief auditor, Arthur
Andersen, due to reports of document shredding.

January 15, 2002 - The NYSE suspends trading of Enron shares.

January 17, 2002 - Enron ends its partnership with Arthur Andersen.
January 23, 2002 - Lay resigns as chairman of the board and CEO.

January 25, 2002 - Former Enron vice chairman J. Clifford Baxter commits suicide in
Sugarland, Texas.
January 30, 2002 - Enron appoints Stephen Cooper as its interim CEO.

February 4, 2002 - Lay resigns from Enron's board of directors.

February 7, 2002 - Andrew Fastow, Michael Kopper, Richard Buy and Richard Causey all
invoke their Fifth Amendment rights before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

February 12, 2002 - Lay invokes his Fifth Amendment right before the Senate Commerce
Committee.

February 14, 2002 - Whistleblower Watkins testifies before the House of Representatives.

February 26, 2002 - Skilling, Watkins and Jeffrey McMahon testify before the US Senate
Commerce Committee.

March 14, 2002 - US Justice Department indicts accounting firm Arthur Andersen for
obstruction of justice in the Enron case.

April 2002 - Enron rises to No. 5 on the Fortune 500 list despite its bankruptcy filing.
Fortune bases its rankings only on the first nine months of revenue in 2001, which totaled
$138.7 billion.

June 15, 2002 - Arthur Andersen is found guilty of obstructing justice.

August 21, 2002 - Former Enron executive Kopper pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

October 2, 2002 - Fastow is charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money
laundering and conspiracy.

May 1, 2003 - Fastow, his wife, and seven others are charged in a superseding indictment
for actions relating to the firm's financial scandals.
January 8, 2004 - Judge David Hittner says he will accept Lea Fastow's plea deal in
exchange for a guilty plea that could reduce her prison time.

January 14, 2004 - Fastow and his wife each plead guilty, as part of a plea agreement.

January 22, 2004 - Causey pleads not guilty to five counts of securities fraud and one
count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

February 19, 2004 - Former Enron CEO Skilling is indicted on fraud and conspiracy
charges and pleads not guilty.

May 6, 2004 - Lea Fastow pleads guilty to a single count of filing a false tax return and
receives a 12-month sentence.
May 19, 2004 - The former Enron vice president responsible for investor relations, Paula
Rieker, pleads guilty to insider trading.

July 7, 2004 - Lay is indicted on 11 counts - one count of conspiracy to commit security and
wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud for misleading statements at employee meetings, four
counts of securities fraud for false statements in presentations to securities analysts, one
count of bank fraud and three counts of making false statements to banks.

July 8, 2004 - Lay pleads not guilty to all 11 charges and is released on $500,000
unsecured bond.

November 3, 2004 - The first criminal trial ends with the acquittal of former accountant
Sheila Kahanek.

November 17, 2004 - Enron comes out of bankruptcy after selling its interest in three
natural gas pipelines to CCE Holdings for $2 billion.

May 31, 2005 - The US Supreme Court overturns Arthur Andersen's obstruction of justice
conviction.

December 28, 2005 - Causey pleads guilty to securities fraud for his role in the Enron
scandal. He will serve only seven years in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors
seeking convictions of his former bosses, Lay and Skilling.

March 28, 2006 - The judge dismisses three counts against Skilling (two charges of
securities fraud and one charge of lying to auditors) and one count of securities fraud
against Lay.

May 25, 2006 - The jury in the Enron case finds former CEO Skilling and founder Lay guilty
of conspiracy and fraud. Lay is convicted of all six counts against him and Skilling is found
guilty on 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, false statements and insider trading. Skilling is
found not guilty on nine counts of insider trading. Judge Simeon T. Lake announces four
guilty verdicts in the separate bench trial of Lay on separate counts of conspiracy and fraud.

July 5, 2006 - Lay dies in Aspen, Colorado, from a heart attack brought on by severe
coronary artery disease.

September 26, 2006 - Fastow is sentenced to six years in prison, four years less than his
plea agreement stipulated in January 2004.
October 17, 2006 - Judge Lake erases Lay's fraud and conspiracy convictions. This is a
long-standing legal practice of the US federal courts if the defendant dies before he/she has
a chance for an appeal to be heard.
October 23, 2006 - Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison.

November 7, 2006 - Fastow reports to the Oakdale, Louisiana, federal detention center to
begin serving his six-year sentence.

November 15, 2006 - Former COO Causey is sentenced to five years and six months in
prison for one count of securities fraud.
November 16, 2006 - Skilling appeals his convictions to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

December 13, 2006 - Skilling reports to prison in Waseca, Minnesota, after a judge refuses
to allow him to remain free pending appeal.
January 3, 2007 - Causey reports to the Bastrop Federal Correctional Institution to begin
serving his five and a half year sentence.

January 6, 2009 - The US Court of Appeals affirms Skilling's conviction but sends his case
back for resentencing.

June 24, 2010 - The US Supreme Court rules that Skilling was incorrectly prosecuted under
a law concerning "honest-services fraud." The court then nullifies Skilling's conviction on
that charge.

April 6, 2011 - The Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals confirms Skilling's criminal conviction.

May 16, 2011 - Fastow is transferred from a federal prison in Louisiana to a halfway house
in Houston. He is later allowed to move to his home to complete his sentence.

May 17, 2011 - Causey begins serving the rest of his five and a half year sentence in home
confinement.

December 17, 2011 - Fastow's home confinement ends and he begins two years of
probation.

April 16, 2012 - The US Supreme Court turns aside Skilling's second appeal. A few weeks
later, Skilling's attorney files a motion requesting a new trial in Houston federal court citing
newly discovered evidence.

June 21, 2013 - A federal judge reduces Skilling's sentence by more than 10 years. As part
of the resentencing deal brokered between prosecutors and the defense, Skilling agrees to
stop challenging his conviction and forfeit roughly $42 million that will be distributed among
the victims of the Enron fraud.
November 18, 2015 - A federal judge issues a ruling that bars Skilling from ever acting as
an officer or director of a publicly traded company again, settling a long-running civil suit by
the US Securities Exchange Commission.
March 1, 2017 - A federal judge dismisses a class action lawsuit against UBS, accused of
hiding fraud committed by Enron, a former client.