SEC Accuses Enron’s Lay of Legal ‘Charade’

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth L. Lay turned over to a bankruptcy examiner evidence that he is refusing to give the Securities and Exchange Commission in its probe of Enron’s collapse, the SEC told a federal judge.

In a court filing in Washington, the SEC asked U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to reject Lay’s assertion of his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and compel his delivery of the evidence. The SEC called Lay’s refusal to produce the evidence a legal “charade.”

Lay has argued that the disputed documents were “personal” and not corporate records, which generally can’t be withheld based on an individual’s claim of 5th Amendment protection.

From Bloomberg News