Former Enron Corp Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, accused of bilking millions from the bankrupt energy trader, is trying to save cash by selling a Vermont cabin.
After he was indicted in October on fraud charges, Fastow posted the property in Norwich, Vermont, as bond for his release from custody. A federal judge in Houston gave Fastow permission in an order made public Monday to sell the land and deposit the proceeds with the court.
Fastow wants to "be relieved of the costs of ownership, such as real-estate taxes," according to his court papers. His tax bill in fiscal year 2003 is about US$4,000, according to Dennis Kaufman, chairman of the Norwich Board of Listers. The house will likely sell for more than the US$289,000 he and wife, Lea, paid in 1998, according to Kaufman.
Property values have increased about 50 percent in the past five years, he said.
"This is belt-tightening time for Mr. Fastow, who has teams of lawyers helping him with his criminal case, other government investigations and class action lawsuits," said Jacob Frenkel, a partner and white-collar crime expert at Smith, Gambrell & Russell.
Fastow pleaded innocent Nov. 6 to 78 counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges. He is accused of masterminding a series of partnerships to hide US$1 billion in Enron debt. The secret deals also brought him more than US$30 million, a report for Enron's board of directors said.
His spokesman, Gordon Andrew, declined to comment.
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