By Mark Scott
New York City, NY – The founder of Adelphia Communications and his son have been ordered to report to prison on August 13th for their fraud convictions.
Last month, a federal appeals court upheld the convictions of John Rigas and his son, Timothy, on charges of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. Both have been free on bail.
John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Timothy Rigas, the company's former chief financial officer, got 20 years.
The sentencing judge, citing the elder Rigas' poor health, said the term might be cut short if he serves at least two years or prison doctors say he has less than three months to live.
Adelphia was the country's fifth-largest cable company before it collapsed into bankruptcy in 2002. Its assets have since been bought by Time Warner and Comcast.