Prosecutors described Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay as a sophisticated hands-on investor who wanted to pry loans from banks so he could buy stock even though he knew federal rules prohibited him from using the money for that purpose.
But Lay’s lawyer, in closing arguments Tuesday at Lay’s bank fraud trial, insisted he had no intention to defraud or mislead bankers eager to get his business and wasn’t aware of the regulations because he was more focused on the big picture of running Enron and not closely managing his own personal finances.
