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Enron's Lay sold stock to repay loans: NYT

Enron Corp chairman and chief executive Kenneth Lay repeatedly used millions of dollars in Enron stock to repay loans made to him by the company last year, the New York Times, reported on Monday, citing an interview with Lay's lawyer.

The lawyer, Earl Silbert, told the Times that Lay's decision to sell Enron shares late in the year related to a need to raise cash, not to concerns about the health of the company.

Silbert also said Lay returned shares in Enron to the company on at least 15 occasions between February and October to repay $4 million he had received through a credit line, the Times reported.

Enron filed for the biggest bankruptcy in US history on December 2, wiping out 5,000 jobs and leaving investors -- including many employees who held company stock in their retirement accounts -- holding nearly worthless shares in the once-giant energy trader.

Lay has been accused of telling employees just weeks before Enron collapsed that the company's stock was "an incredible bargain."

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