AD Grant Ashley
Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division
Press Conference Announcing the Plea of Andrew Fastow
plea is a significant milestone in our efforts to
expose and punish those criminally responsible for
the collapse of Enron. This ongoing investigation
is not a simple case of fraud, but rather a deliberate
and sophisticated series of crimes. Fastow and other
members of Enron's senior management engaged in a
variety of schemes to fraudulently manipulate Enron's
publicly reported financial results. These crimes
were perpetrated by individuals in positions of trust
and responsibility, who made millions while investors
The announcement today of the guilty plea of Andrew
Fastow, the former Enron Chief Financial Officer is
a result of an intensive two-year investigation by
Special Agents of the FBI and IRS, and investigators
from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FBI, along with the SEC and the IRS, are continuing
to investigate corporate fraud cases where the numerous
victims include shareholders, employees, and pension
plan investors. At the present time, we are investigating
158 large scale corporate fraud cases - 16 of which
have losses exceeding one billion dollars each. We
are opening 3 to 6 new corporate fraud cases a month.
All told, we have more than 2,500 cases involving
securities and commodities fraud.
announcement is not the end of our efforts regarding
the Enron case. To date we have charged 26 individuals
and the task force has restrained more than $93 million
in proceeds derived from criminal activities. We will
hold accountable any individuals who contributed to
the collapse of Enron.
behalf of the FBI, I would like to recognize the contributions
of our partners in this investigation. Today's developments
are a testament to the hard work and dedication of
the men and women of the FBI, the Criminal Division
of the Department of Justice and members of the Enron
Task Force, which include the Internal Revenue Service
and the Securities and Exchange Commission. We thank
you all for your service.