Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling has reached a deal with federal prosecutors to get out of prison a decade before his 24-year prison sentence is up.
Under the deal Skilling — who was convicted of fraud for his role in the collapse of Enron — would get out of prison in 2017, the Justice Department announced. Skilling has agreed to forfeit more than $40 million and give up the right to appeal his conviction.
A Justice Department spokesman said the deal ensures Skilling is "appropriately punished" and that Enron victims get restitution. A judge will have to sign off on the deal.
Skilling has served six years of his sentence so far. In October 2006, Skilling got the 24-year sentence for his role in the massive accounting fraud that caused Enron's downfall.
Since he was sentenced, both of his parents and his college-age son have died.
The proposed deal comes after an appeals court ruled in 2009 that Skilling's 24-year sentence was excessive. Skilling was never resentenced because of procedural delays, though, and Skilling's lawyers have been planning to ask for a retrial because of alleged misconduct of Enron Task Force prosecutors.
CNBC has pointed out that a deal to cut his sentence could help prosecutors avoid another trial, which would dig into those allegations of misconduct.
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