Ken Lay is FAR FROM "BROKE". His 900K/yr income starts in 2007

Linda Lay failed to tell viewers of NBC's Today show, however, was that she and her husband had shifted millions in personal assets to investments that are beyond the reach of creditors or legal judgments.

In February 2000, Mother Jones has learned, the Lays paid about $4 million -- an amount greater than Lay's entire salary from Enron that year -- to buy variable annuities that will, starting in 2007, guarantee the couple an annual income of about $900,000. While stocks and most other ordinary investments are open to attack by creditors, life insurance policies and annuities are protected in many states. Variable annuities of the sort purchased by the Lays are basically tax-deferred investments wrapped in insurance policies.

Six states -- including Texas, where the Lays live -- provide the maximum degree of protection to investments in variable annuities, leaving them virtually impervious to attack by creditors.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2002/02/enron_insure.html

for the rest of their miserable fucking lives.

action. Not only did he deliberately fuck company shareholders but he took time to take care of his own ass. It really, really must suck being a "conservative" in America today. I wonder what Jesus will do with ken's ass when the time comes?

life that money can't buy...

A kindergarten lesson fitting for a greedy old man.

she sort of cried and claimed they were broke (like lots of other people) and that they were going to open up a second hand goods store.

Problem was that people here at DU as well as the Free Republic looked up his real estate holdings in the Houston area alone and it was $7 or 9 Million worth. Even the Freepers didn't buy the act.

Truly. What was she thinking? I suppose she was just thinking that she, and they, were above it all.

should be able to be taken back.

but I dont believe there is justice in this world. he will probably live out his life as a free and wealthy man while the many millions he stole remains stolen and the many who suffered because of it will continue to suffer.

It breaks my heart every time I hear about the 72 yr old man who's STILL working because Lay stole the 2 million he had saved up for his retirement.

Freaking neocons don't care about anybody but themselves.

poor mans life made whole again?

pretty slim I guess. he will be lucky to get back a penny on the stolen dollar.

This is not protection from creditors. This is stolen money, and it should be confisctated so that it can be returned to the victims.

If you were in possession of property you had stolen, wouldn't the police confiscate it? Yes. The answer is yes.

You, Bullimiami, and I are in full agreement.

Let's see some action from law enforcement. They know as well as we do.

workers and their pension funds, but only for defrauding their shareholders. It's Bush's DOJ protecting big business and the 'investment' class again. These convictions are just a slap on the wrist to these executive crooks. The sentences will be minimal and then there will be pardons.

I'm less cynical.

That would be stolen money.

Both of them are facing decades in prison.

However, I agree about the pardons. I figure Lay will keep the appeals going until Bush's departure. On Bush's way out the door, he will pardon Lay.

Other option, despite turning in his passport, Lay can hire a private plane, and fly to a private landing strip in the Cayman Islands, or somewhere similar that he has already set up lavish housekeeping. Why serve time when he can live in luxury somewhere else?

Regardless of what the charges are, the money was stolen, and should be confiscated.

I don't even care what the law says. If the law allows Lay to keep the stolen money, the law is wrong.

needs to be returned.

That's my point. None of his money was gotten legally; therefore, none of it should be kept. All of it should be confiscated. All of it. I don't care what he did with it after he got it, it should be confiscated.

How could anything else be fair or just?

on Enroon stock, which was sinking at the time--and lying to the banks about loans you're using to play the stock market is a BIG NO NO.

Well, I want him penniless. As long as anyone is suffering a loss because of his actions, he should not have a single penny.

his expenses will be reduced somewhat in prison.

His annuity should pay us back for his upkeep, though, right?

Texas, federal and most states do not allow the cash value in a life insurance policy to be seized by creditors or just about anyone else.

I don't think stolen money is ever exempt from confiscation.

I realize you aren't defending Lay. Don't misinterpret my protests.

Someone said that the Mother Jones article said that this money is not covered by this rule re seizure from creditors. I must go read details.

I'm sure Lay thought it would be exempt from seizure, and that's why he did it.

But, realistically, if I steal $1 million, then put it into a retirement fund or insurance policy, how the hell does it become exempt from confiscation? It is the same money I stole.

From elehhhhna's Post #26:

Texas law stipulates that the proceeds of annuity contracts "are fully exempt from creditors and from all demands in any bankruptcy and from execution, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process unless a statutory exemption, such as fraud, is applicable."

insurance policy. The idea is that is money the insurance company owes you due to what you and other policy holders have paid in but is above the cost of paying the future claim. Basically after you get to a point of paying in that they make the same money by paying you money now instead of waiting for you to die. A differed annuity is by law and nature a life insurance policy where there isn't a death benefit, all the premiums paid in go straight to the cash value. It's a law that was designed to protect people during a bankruptcy, allow them to use the cash value to pay the premiums on a policy so they could keep their death benefits while they get back on their feet. When annuities became popular, people realized they could use this law to protect large sums of money.

Seizing it due to fraud is something I have never heard of the state or feds being very successful at doing. If you were to steal $1M, it would depend on how you steal it and what form you have it in as to how you would go about protecting and or hiding it.

:grr:

And at the expense of their works toboot. I hope Lay gets imprisoned for the rest of his pathetic life.

how does one purchase an annuity paying $900K/yr for only $4M? That's fuzzy math.

hopefully he spends the rest of his days(after september) behind bars.

He will have about 1 or 2 years of freedom while his appeals play out, but this guy is going to the bighouse. Probably for the rest of his life. He can't run to another country because his case is too high profile. It's over for this guy.

Texas law stipulates that the proceeds of annuity contracts "are fully exempt from creditors and from all demands in any bankruptcy and from execution, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process unless a statutory exemption, such as fraud, is applicable."

from the moJones article

A little more than a year after Lay and his wife bought the variable annuities, Enron reportedly warned its employees, through a company newsletter, against "salesmen from the Tampa area trying to move your retirement money into a variable annuity."

What the hell was that all about?

bought annuties they would be a hell of a lot better off...like him.

to buy the annuities.

What a creep.

and all his assets be seized by the state to provide cents on the dollar restitution to those he cheated.

let his whore wife survive however she can

I hate these bastards.

May him live the life of a poor person!

Yeah, I know. Just a fantasy.

commenting that they might have to sell their lake house at one point because they were "so broke." This was after it was disclosed that Lay had taken $55 million for himself out of the pot right before the shit hit the fan.