As discussed in Chapter 2, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) substantially increases the civil and criminal penalties associated with securities fraud, including fraudulent financial reporting. The increased penalties are intended to reduce illegal behaviors. Even prior to SOX, the penalties available to the government and the Securities and Exchange Commission for prosecuting securities fraud were substantial. For example, Andrew Fastow, Enron’s former chief financial officer, and primary architect of Enron’s fraudulent actions, pled guilty to a number of fraud-related criminal charges and has received a 10-year prison sentence. And the former chief executive officers of Enron, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, were convicted of numerous criminal charges related to their roles at Enron and are expected to receive lengthy prison sentences. As another example, Scott Sullivan, WorldCom’s former chief financial officer, and the driver of the WorldCom fraud, also has pled guilty to a number of criminal charges. Sullivan has been sentenced to five years in prison. Bernard Ebbers, WorldCom ’s former chief executive officer, chose to stand trial related to his WorldCom related activities. He was found guilty, and has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.