Joe Nacchio Headed to Prison on April 14th

Joe Nacchio, the former executive at AT&T and former CEO at Qwest, was told on Tuesday that his six-year prison sentence will begin on April 14th. Nacchio received his sentence after being found guilty on 19 counts of insider trading in 2007.

Joe Nacchio, Qwest (Image: Newscom)

After being passed over for a promotion within AT&T, Nacchio left for rival Qwest. However, a costly decision in 2001 currently has him heading to prison. In April of that year, Nacchio allegedly sold more than $50 million in Qwest stock after learning that the company wasn’t as financially sturdy as those outside of the company had thought.

In early 2002, the SEC began investigating him and by June of that year Nacchio had stepped down from his position at Qwest. Originally charged with 42 counts of insider trading, he was able to avoid more than half of the chargers but those final 19 counts have him headed to prison in less than a week. In addition, Nacchio was fined $71 million.

Although his defense team contends that there should be a new trial, most experts believe that he will be forced to report to prison on the 14th.