The Australian Financial Review reported that Rechner avoided prison "by the barest of margins" on Thursday night when District Courth Judge Robert Mazza decided to suspend his sentence.
The newspaper reported Rechner choked back tears as the judge sentenced him to 16 months in prison and then released him on a good behaviour bond.
The judge also banned Rechner from being a company director for the next five years. Rechner is 60 years of age.
Rechner had pleaded not guilty after being charged in January last year. He had made comparisons about Myall Creek to BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam project.
Rechner resigned from his Eagle Bay directorship two weeks ago.
Shares in Eagle Bay were last trading unchanged at 4.8c.
