[JURIST] A federal court in California sentenced two former Enron [JURIST news archive] executives Wednesday to probation for their roles in Enron's manipulation of electricity supplies during the 2000-01 West Coast energy crisis. Timothy Belden [Wikipedia profile], former head of Enron's West Coast power trading who pleaded guilty [plea agreement, PDF; WSJ report] to deliberately submitting false data to California electricity operators to drive up Enron's profits, was sentenced to two years of probation. He must also pay a $10,000 fine. Another former Enron employee, Jeffrey Richter, was also sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for conspiracy.

A third former Enron trader, John Forney, pleaded guilty in 2004 [JURIST report] for conspiracy to commit similar profit drives. He is expected to be sentenced next month. Belden, Richter, and Forney are the only three ex-Enron traders to be charged with manipulating the California market. The Houston Chronicle has more.