WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling were convicted Thursday of conspiracy and securities and wire fraud.

Enron founder Ken Lay with his wife talks outside federal court after he was convicted on all charges in both his fraud and conspiracy and bank fraud trials in Houston May 25. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    Jurors in the trial of the case, one of the biggest business scandals in the U.S. history, reached a verdict Thursday, the sixth day of deliberations. The deliberations followed a federal criminal trial that lasted nearly four months.

    Lay, 64, was convicted on all six counts against him in the trial.

    He was also convicted of bank fraud and making false statements to banks in a separate, non-jury trial before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake related to Lay's personal banking.

    Skilling, 52, was convicted on 19 of the 28 counts, including one count of insider trading, and acquitted on the remaining nine.

    The sentencing was set for Sept. 11, according to news reports.

    The charges for which Lay was convicted carry a maximum penalty in prison of 45 years in the corporate trial and 120 years in the personal banking trial. The charges for which Skilling was convicted carry a maximum penalty of 185 years in prison.

    Enron Corp. was once the nation's seventh-largest company and had more than 20,000 employees worldwide. The energy giant filed bankruptcy in December 2001 amid revelations of hidden debt, inflated profits and accounting tricks, becoming the first of a series of major financial scandals in corporate America. Enditem