United States v. James Brown

Closed Criminal Division Cases

United States v. James Brown
Court Docket Number: 03-CR-00363

This case is assigned to the Honorable Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. in Courtroom 11D, United States Courthouse, 515 Rusk Avenue, Houston, Texas. The final pretrial conference in this case was held on June 24, 2010. Upon motion of the government, counts one, two, and three only of the Indictment as they relate to defendant Brown were dismissed with prejudice on September 16, 2010.

On April 19, 2012, James A. Brown, a former head of Merrill Lynch’s Strategic Asset Lease and Finance group, was re-sentenced by Judge Werlein on counts four and five of the superceding indictment to time served (concurrent as to counts) and ordered to pay a fine of $40,000 on his November 2004 jury conviction on charges of perjury before and obstruction of the Enron grand jury.   In April 2005, Brown was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months of incarceration, a year of supervised release and payment of a $250,000 fine.  Brown also was ordered to pay restitution, jointly and severally with co-defendant Daniel O. Boyle, who also was convicted in the November 2004 trial, of $295,000.   In August 2006, the Fifth Circuit overturned the November 2004 conspiracy and wire fraud convictions of Brown and co-defendants Daniel Bayly and Robert S. Furst, holding that the government tried them on an invalid theory of deprivation of honest services because they had acted in the company’s best interests and had not personally benefitted from the scheme to inflate Enron’s earnings, but the court affirmed Brown’s convictions on the perjury and obstruction charges.  Boyle, who was convicted of perjury, obstruction, wire fraud, and conspiracy did not appeal his conviction or sentence.  In January 2010, Bayly was dismissed on the government’s motion; in May 2010, Furst entered into a 12-month DPA.  Another co-defendant, Sheila Kahanek, was acquitted in the trial, and co-defendant William Fuhs’s convictions were vacated by the Fifth Circuit and he was dismissed.

Order Setting Sentencing Date

Order Granting Dismissal

Order Setting Trial Date

Notice Resetting Pretrial Conference

Brown Amended Docket Order

Order Granting Dismissal

Order resetting Pre Trial Conference

Order of Amended Docket Order

Notice to Appear

5th Circuit Decision

Notice Vacating Trial Setting

Notice of Resetting

Scheduling Order Setting Pretrial Conference

Government Motion to Strike Surplusage from the Indictment

Order Granting Motion to Modify Conditions of Pretrial Release as to Bayly, Brown