Billions to be Shared by Enron Shareholders HOUSTON, TX (kccu-fm) - A federal judge in Houston has approved a plan to distribute more than 7.2 billion dollars recovered as part of a lawsuit by Enron shareholders and investors.

The lawsuit arose from the once-mighty Houston energy company's collapse into bankruptcy in 2001.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon also approved 688 million dollars in attorneys fees, the largest ever in a securities fraud case.

About 1.5 million individuals and entities will be eligible to share in the distribution under the settlement plan. The plan was part of a 40 billion-dollar lawsuit alleging financial institutions participated in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's downfall.

The 7.2 billion dollars comes mostly from settlements made with such financial institutions as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. © Copyright 2009, kccu-fm