Andy Fastow
Andy Fastow was the mastermind behind the financial schemes that doomed Enron Corp. and architect of the greatest fraud in American history. He was the infamous Chief Financial Officer of Enron Corporation, then the world's largest wholesaler of gas and electricity and a major technological visionary firm. In 2004, he pled guilty to two counts of securities fraud, and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Since his release from prison, Fastow has been a guest lecturer at universities and corporations, and at conferences for management, corporate directors, attorneys, accountants, and certified fraud examiners. He provides litigation support at a law firm, and he consults with directors, attorneys, and hedge funds on how best to identify potentially critical finance, accounting, compensation, and cultural issues. He is also a Principal at KeenCorp, an artificial intelligence software company.
Andy Fastow Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Principal and Investor
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Chief Financial Officer
Academic History
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M.B.A., Finance
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B.A., Economics and Chinese
Fastow was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Enron, responsible for the company's finance, treasury, risk management, and asset syndication.
He joined ECT in 1990 to develop the company's funding business, providing and managing the debt and equity capital required for ECT's third-party finance business, as well as for ECT's physical and financial acquisitions and investments.
He led the company's retail energy business. He was named CFO in 1998 and Executive Vice President in 1999.
Fastow set up dozens of off-balance-sheet deals and special purpose vehicles that helped hide debt from Enron’s balance sheet while simultaneously registering revenue, inflating Enron’s stock price in the process.
By illegally maintaining individual stakes in these independent ghost-entities, Fastow defrauded the company out of tens of millions of dollars.
In 2002, he was indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. He negotiated a plea deal for a maximum 10-year prison term and the forfeiture of more than $29 million in assets.
Enron's fraud prompted Congress to pass Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002 to prevent large accounting frauds. At the time Enron collapsed, it was the largest bankruptcy in the United States.
He is the only Enron executive that has taken full responsibility for his actions, and has repeatedly and publicly expressed remorse.
MORE ABOUT ANDY FASTOW
Fastow was recently keynote speaker at the United Nations’ Principles of Responsible Management Education Conference, and the FBI’s Advanced Financial Crimes Seminar.
He has also spoken at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Annual Conference, the American Accounting Association Annual Conference, and the Financial Times’ Outstanding Directors Conference.
Prior to joining Enron, he served as Senior Director in Continental Bank's Asset Securitization Group in Chicago.
He structured short and medium-term asset-backed securities for commercial banks, leasing companies and corporate clients.