The US Senate last night voted that any executive found to have "recklessly and knowingly" filed false information with the Securities and Exchange Commission could face up to five years in prison.
Senators passed the new legislation 96-0 as an amendment to a larger bill being debated on stringent new accounting laws aimed at restoring investor confidence in the US markets.
If the chief executive officer, or other company officer files false information intentionally, that penalty would be increased to a fine of not more than $1 million and a prison sentence of 10 years, according to the new legislation.
"These people deserve to go to jail. They've ruined the lives of thousands of people, good people, hard-working people, honest people. They have destroyed much of the confidence in Wall Street," Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and sponsor of one of the main amendments, said of corporate crooks.
AP