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Andrew Fastow, Former Chief Financial Officer

Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, was the chief architect behind the off-the-books partnerships which led to the company's bankruptcy.
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Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, was the chief architect behind the off-the-books partnerships which led to the company's bankruptcy.

Andrew Fastow was the chief architect of the off-the-books partnerships that eventually led the company into bankruptcy. He is expected to be a key witness in the trial of Enron's top executives. He has already pleaded guilty and faces a 10-year sentence.

Fastow was hired by Jeff Skilling in 1990 and became one of his proteges. In 1998, he was promoted to Enron's chief financial officer.

Prosecutors hope Fastow will help convince the jury that Lay and Skilling knew about his creative accounting. But lawyers for the defense will say Fastow acted alone when he created the off-the-books deals that eventually doomed the company.

Fastow's wife Lea also worked at Enron and has already served a year-long prison term for tax evasion.

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