Ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling released from federal custody

Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey K. Skilling has been released from federal custody.

Skilling was discharged Thursday after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house after being convicted for his actions that led to one of the worst corporate meltdowns in history.

The 65-year-old was initially sentenced in 2006 to 24 years in prison and fined $45 million for multiple counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes. In 2013, the sentence was reduced to 14 years.

Houston-based Enron collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 after years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks that put more than 5,000 people out of work, eliminated more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless $60 billion in Enron stock.