Federal judge has approved a plan to distribute more than $7.2 billion recovered as part of a lawsuit by Enron Corp. shareholders and investors

Federal judge has approved a plan to distribute more than $7.2 billion recovered as part of a lawsuit by Enron Corp. shareholders and investors in connection with the company's collapse.U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon also approved $688 million 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 lawsuit claiming financial institutions participated in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's downfall.
The $7.2 billion comes mostly from settlements made with such financial institutions as Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.