Finally, somebody in Washington is “getting” the Enron deal: The Nando Times: Congressmen say Enron investigation points to ‘securities fraud’
WASHINGTON (February 3, 2002 1:28 p.m. EST) – Two lawmakers pointed to possible criminality in the Enron scandal Sunday, saying the company manufactured income out of its clandestine partnership deals that led to financial disaster.
“We’re finding what may clearly be securities fraud,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin.
Sen. Byron Dorgan said that in a failed deal for Blockbuster Video, an Enron partnership named Braveheart borrowed $110 million from a Canadian bank and the company booked the money as income.
The Enron scam wasn’t about the journalists and it wasn’t about the polticians: it was a scheme to defraud investors out of their money by pushing the stock price up through false reporting. The principal watchdogs who should have been on the case were all paid-off, of course, and that was primarily through investment banking fees and commissions.