Former Dynegy Exec Found Guilty of Fraud

A federal jury in Houston found former Dynegy Inc. tax executive Jamie Olis guilty of six counts of fraud in connection with charges that he illegally disguised a $300-million debt as income to inflate his company’s finances.

Olis, 37, faces as many as 35 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 19. The securities, wire and mail fraud charges stemmed from a transaction called Project Alpha, a 2001 loan of $300 million that was camouflaged as a five-year gas trade through complicated financial machinations.

Defense attorney Terry Wayne Yates said Olis relied on accounting firm Andersen’s advice and reminded jurors that it was Arthur Andersen’s tax experts who pitched the idea that became Alpha in the first place.