Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling released from prison

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who helmed the company responsible for one of the worst cases of corporate fraud in U.S. history, is a free man after being released from federal custody on Thursday.

Skilling, 65, had spent the last 12 years in prison after a 2006 conviction for various counts of fraud and insider trading. He has lived in a halfway house in Texas for the last six months after serving time in Alabama and Colorado.

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Once a massive energy and commodities firm, Enron fell into bankruptcy and ultimately collapsed in 2001 amid revelations that company officials had engaged in years of shady business deals and accounting practices to hide financial losses. The company’s collapse erased the value of $60 billion worth of Enron stock held by shareholders and cost thousands of workers their jobs and pensions.

Skilling resigned as Enron’s CEO just months before the scandal became public knowledge. He was originally sentenced to 24 years in prison, but had his sentence reduced to 14 years in 2013. In exchange for the reduction, Skilling agreed to forfeit $42 million, which was dispersed to those affected by Enron’s fraud, the New York Times reported.

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Skilling received the longest sentence of any Enron executive. The company’s chairman, Kenneth Lay, was also found guilty of fraud and conspiracy charges, but died shortly before his trial was set to begin.