Tycoon sentenced to jail in Livedoor fraud

By Jonathan Soble

TOKYO (Reuters) - Takafumi Horie, the 34-year-old Internet entrepreneur who rattled corporate Japan with his celebrity lifestyle and brash takeover bids, was found guilty and sentenced to 2-½ years in prison on Friday for his role in a securities fraud at his former company Livedoor.

The punishment contrasted with past sanctions meted out to Japanese executives convicted of white-collar crimes, who often receive suspended sentences after pleading guilty and showing remorse.

Experts said the ruling symbolised a new determination by regulators to clamp down on corporate misdeeds, though Horie's defiant insistence on his innocence likely marked him for tougher treatment.

"I think this is a message that they have rules and are going to start enforcing them," said Keith Henry, director of Asia Strategy, a consultancy that advises firms on policy and regulatory issues in Japan.

"If he had just sort of shut up and taken his knocks like a 'good Japanese', I don't think he would have been punished as much."

A dropout from the prestigious University of Tokyo who used savvy marketing and an aggressive string of acquisitions to build a $50,000 start-up into a conglomerate worth $6 billion (3 billion pounds) at its peak, Horie had called the charges "malicious" and blamed his chief financial officer for the accounting mess.

Prosecutors had sought a four-year jail term.

Horie, wearing a dark suit and grey tie, stood while the verdict was read then sat with a sombre expression while the Tokyo District Court presiding judge, Toshiyuki Kosaka, explained the verdict.  Continued...