Associated Press - May 24, 2007 11:53 AM ET
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the fraud conviction of Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas (REE'-guhs) and his son Timothy. At the same time, though, the court reversed their conviction on one lesser count.
Lawyers for the pair had argued that fraud charges should be thrown out because accounting terms were not explained to the jury. The appeals court says the government wasn't required to present expert testimony about accounting requirements because the requirements aren't essential to the securities fraud.
The elder Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while the son got 20 years.
Adelphia was once the nation's fifth-largest cable operator before an accounting scandal pushed the company to seek bankruptcy protection from its creditors.
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