This may create an interesting legal issue. In certain situations, where a defendant dies before his sentence, his attorneys can ask the court to vacate his conviction, on the theory that no one is "finally convicted" until sentence is imposed.
Quote: the G-man said: The Prosecutors most likely cannot [put a lien on his estate] because, as noted above, the death before sentencing probably voided the conviction. Without a conviction there is no way for the government to impose a lien for restitution.
However, as noted in the above article, claims filed by shareholders against Lay and other senior Enron executives in a civil case can still proceed to trial. The question will be whether or not, by the time the trial is concluded, there is an estate left upon which to lay claim.
A federal judge Tuesday vacated the conviction of Enron's late founder Kenneth Lay, wiping out a jury's verdict that he committed fraud and conspiracy in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history.
Lay was convicted of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases on May 25. Enron's collapse in 2001 wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans.
Lay died of heart disease July 5 while vacationing with his wife, Linda, in Aspen, Colo.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, in a ruling Tuesday, agreed with Lay's lawyers that his death required that his conviction be erased and his indictment dismissed. They cited a 2004 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that a defendant's death pending appeal extinguished his entire case because he hadn't had a full opportunity to challenge the conviction and the government shouldn't be able to punish a dead defendant or his estate.
Tuesday's ruling thwarts the government's bid to seek $43.5 million prosecutors allege Lay took by participating in Enron's fraud. The government could still pursue those claims in civil court, but they would have to compete with any other litigants also pursuing Lay's estate.
