Enron Epilogue

Enron Corp. Treasurer Jeffrey McMahon once was praised before a congressional committee as an executive-suite hero who had tried to raise questions about some of the company's more egregious partnerships.

Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine, said that had there been more people like McMahon at Enron, "it might have well prevented this catastrophic demise of one of the largest companies in America."

The Securities and Exchange Commission begs to differ.

It filed civil charges against McMahon on Wednesday in federal court in Houston, accusing him of having participated in the notorious Nigerian barge deal that let Enron improperly report $12 million in earnings in 1999.

The S.E.C. also accused McMahon of making false and misleading statements to credit ratings agencies when he was Enron's treasurer, and again after he succeeded Andrew Fastow as chief financial officer in 2001.

McMahon settled the case as soon as it was filed without admitting or denying the charges. In doing so, he agreed to pay $300,000 in restitution and penalties, and accepted a bar from acting as an officer or director of a public company for five years.

by Mark Stein