The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred Enron North America's former chief accounting officer from practicing before it for four years.
The commission's complaint against CPA Wesley H. Colwell, filed in a Texas U.S. District Court in October, alleged, among other things, that Colwell, in coordination with other Enron employees, manipulated Enron's reported earnings and produced phony results by misusing reserve accounts, concealing losses, inflating asset values and deliberately using improper accounting treatment for transactions.
Colwell did not admit or deny any of the SEC's findings.
Colwell served as Enron North America's CAO from February 2000 until January 2002, when UBS Warburg Energy Services LLC purchased ENA's business.
The SEC suspension comes a month after a U.S. District court barred Colwell from future violations of securities laws and ordered him to pay $500,000 for his role in manipulating the energy company's earnings, including a civil penalty of $200,000.
