The Tokyo District Court sentenced Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie to 2 1/2 years in prison Friday for falsifying financial statements and violating the Securities and Exchange Law in a harsh ruling sure to raise questions about double standards in the justice system.
Horie, 34, once hailed as an IT prodigy for turning a small Internet startup into an influential conglomerate, was found guilty of conspiring with four senior Livedoor executives to report a pretax profit of 5 billion yen for the business year through September 2004 instead of an actual loss of 300 million yen.
The executives, who are still on trial, allegedly camouflaged the loss by reporting sales of Livedoor shares conducted through dummy companies as the profit.