Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced Monday to 24 years and 4 months in prison for crimes related to the financial scandal that brought down the energy company in 2001.

"Crimes of this magnitude deserve severe punishment," U.S. District Judge Sim Lake said when handing down the 292-month sentence.

However, Skilling, 52, denied the crime and told the court he planned to appeal his conviction.

"I am innocent of these charges," Skilling told Lake. "I'm innocent of every one of these charges."

"We will continue to pursue my constitutional rights and it's no dishonor to this court and anyone else in this court. But I feel very strongly about this, and I want my friends, my family to know that," he said.

Skilling was convicted in May on 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors. He was acquitted on nine counts of insider trading and had faced a maximum of 185 years in jail.

Skilling also faces more than 18 million dollars in fines for his crimes.

Both Skilling and Enron's former chairman Kenneth Lay have been convicted of fraud and conspiracy for hiding the financial ruin of Enron, which collapsed into bankruptcy proceedings in 2001.

Last week, a U.S. federal judge dismissed the conviction of Lay for he died before he had a chance to appeal. Lay, 64, died of heart-related problems in July.

This ruling thwarts the government's bid to seek 43.5 million dollars prosecutors allege Lay obtained fraudulently.

The government could still pursue those claims in civil court, but they would have to compete with any other litigants also pursuing Lay's estate.

The Labor Department has proposed a 12 million dollar agreement with the estate of Kenneth Lay to settle claims involving mismanagement of workers' pension plans.

Enron, once the nation's seventh-largest company, collapsed into bankruptcy proceeding in 2001 with an estimated 40 billion dollars in debt.

Source: Xinhua