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Former Enron Exec Pleads Guilty in California Energy Case NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – A former Enron Corp. executive is the first person charged in the Justice Department's investigation of the illegal manipulation of the California energy markets, department officials said Thursday. The manipulation allegedly cost state energy consumers billions of dollars. Timothy Belden, who was Enron's chief energy trader, agreed to plead guilty Thursday in San Francisco to conspiracy to commit wire fraud during the state power crisis of 2000 and 2001, the officials said. Despite the break in the case, an official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday it was too early to say whether Californians would be getting a refund on their energy bills. Documents filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco said the manipulation cost "purchasers of electricity in the state of California approximately $8.9 billion more than they would have under competitive market conditions." Belden is cooperating with the investigation. In addition to facing up to five years and a hefty fine for his plea, department officials said, he has agreed to forfeit $2.1 million. The department said the forfeited money represents a portion of Belden's salary and bonuses that could be directly tied to the fraud. Belden, 35, lives in Houston, where Enron keeps its corporate headquarters. "Today's charges demonstrate our significant progress on the energy trading front investigation," Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson said in announcing the charges at the Justice Department. Enron's income from Belden's trading unit rose from $50 million in 1999 to $500 million in 2000 and $$800 million in 2001. Belden was employed by Enron in its West Power Trading Division in Portland, Ore. The division bought and sold wholesale electricity in the Western part of the United States. From 1998 to 2001, Belden allegedly conspired with others to manipulate the California energy markets. The Justice Department said Belden admitted that he and others accomplished the manipulation by misrepresenting the type and amounts of electricity Enron proposed to supply in the state market. The conspirators also created a false congestion on California's transmission lines, then accepted fees for falsely relieving that congestion, according to the department. The department said the conspirators also falsely claimed that energy originated out of state to avoid federally approved price caps. The energy had in fact been generated in California, exported, and then brought back into the state. Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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