Enron's Skilling to Cut 10 Years Off Sentence

Remember the great Enron collapse of 2001? Former CEO Jeffrey Skilling has been in prison for more than six years now on convictions of fraud, conspiracy, and insider trading at the now-defunct energy giant. But freedom might be near, reports the Wall Street Journal. Skilling has struck a deal with prosecutors to lop about a decade off his 24-year sentence. Factor in good behavior, and the 59-year-old could be out in 2017, reports CNBC.

In return, Skilling agrees to drop all of his remaining legal challenges. Among other things, that means he forfeits rights to $40 million of his personal assets that got seized, and that money could then be used to compensate Enron's victims. The agreement must be approved by a judge, but that's expected to happen within weeks.