Former Enron broadband division chief Kennith Rice was sentenced to 27 months in prison Monday and ordered to forfeit almost $15 million as part of a plea deal with prosecutors for his testimony against former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and company founder Kenneth Lay . As CEO of Enron Broadband Services (EBS), Rice made numerous false statements about technology developments designed to mislead investors and artificially inflate the company's stock price. Without the plea deal, Rice faced up to 10 years in prison for his actions. Earlier this month, former EBS Chief Operating Officer Kevin Hannon was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $125,000 for defrauding investors. Hannon also was sentenced subject to a plea deal, but was convicted of lesser crimes and was facing a maximum of 5 years in prison. |