[AP] Ex-WorldCom CEO: 25 years prison sentence

  • News
  • Thread starter Pengwuino
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Ap Years
In summary: I think it's just that people are more interested in large-scale scandals.more publicity?? This thing, along with the Enron thing, was just all you saw for months at a time when the "crap was hitting the fans".Is that so? I havn't seen a thing on this until now, nor did I see a stitch on Enron.Well, the scandals didn't take place in your country. There was plenty of coverage here, although there was far more of Martha Stewart. Then again, it's not like news channels are purposely suppressing anything. They just put on what they think people want to watch so they
  • #1
Pengwuino
Gold Member
5,124
20
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8474930/

NEW YORK - Weeping in court as he learned his fate, former WorldCom boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history.

It was the toughest sentence imposed on an executive since the fall of Enron in 2001 touched off a record-breaking wave of business scandals.

Even with possible time off for good behavior, Ebbers, 63 and with what his lawyers describe as serious heart problems, would remain locked up until 2027, when he would be 85.


Crybaby...
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Pengwuino said:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8474930/

NEW YORK - Weeping in court as he learned his fate, former WorldCom boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history.

It was the toughest sentence imposed on an executive since the fall of Enron in 2001 touched off a record-breaking wave of business scandals.

Even with possible time off for good behavior, Ebbers, 63 and with what his lawyers describe as serious heart problems, would remain locked up until 2027, when he would be 85.


Crybaby...
He should do what Ernest Saunders the ex chairman of Guinness did several years ago when he was jailed for securities fraud. Develop alzheimers, get released on compassionate grounds and then make a miraculous recovery. :smile: No wonder they used to advertise with the slogan 'Guinness is good for you' it even cures alzheimers :approve:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #3
He should be glad he might get out while he was still alive. It looked initially like he'd get an 80-year sentence.
 
  • #4
There needs to be more prosecution of these sorts of crimes. How many people who never got a real shot at life have suffered similar sentences. This man had every means, every ability, to avoid and no necessity to commit these crimes. If only these things got more publicity, they might actually deter others from committing similar crimes.
 
  • #5
Smurf said:
There needs to be more prosecution of these sorts of crimes. How many people who never got a real shot at life have suffered similar sentences. This man had every means, every ability, to avoid and no necessity to commit these crimes. If only these things got more publicity, they might actually deter others from committing similar crimes.

more publicity?? This thing, along with the Enron thing, was just all you saw for months at a time when the "crap was hitting the fans".
 
  • #6
Is that so? I havn't seen a thing on this until now, nor did I see a stitch on Enron.
 
  • #7
Well the news coverage is normally only big when people are being indicted (sp?). No one cares about corporate scandal trials so there not really publicized. People are MUCH more interested in some michael jackson crap or some murder case where they can bring in these horrible accounts of torturing or something. Not very entertaining to watch a financial expert talk about tax laws :-/. And what good is the news these days if its not for entertainment.
 
  • #8
I rest my case pun intended
 
  • #9
Smurf said:
Is that so? I havn't seen a thing on this until now, nor did I see a stitch on Enron.

Well, the scandals didn't take place in your country. There was plenty of coverage here, although there was far more of Martha Stewart. Then again, it's not like news channels are purposely suppressing anything. They just put on what they think people want to watch so they can sell advertising time. Court TV covers these things quite extensively, but CNN gets way higher ratings.
 
  • #10
haha oh yah, I forget Court TV even exists sometimes...

I also just realized how weird that "I didnt see anything about this" response is. I got it from someone from the UK in anaother forum and i also realized "wait... why should you hear about it? Does the BBC have nothing better to show you then a US trial?" (that isn't stupid like michael jackson or stewart)
 
  • #11
Just note how the media has put the word: "Scandal" Corporate scandal, to make it look not to bad. what scandal?? it's a crimee" it's corporate crime!
 
  • #12
Scandal - A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society

Since J-walking is considered a crime, i think scandal would be a better word here...
 
  • #13
Smurf said:
Is that so? I havn't seen a thing on this until now, nor did I see a stitch on Enron.
The coverage of Enron was constant during the breaking of the scandals and the trials got plenty of coverage. The word "enron" gets you hundreds of stories in CNN - sorting by relevance, nearly all of the first 50 were about the scandal.
loseyourname said:
...although there was far more of Martha Stewart.
I don't think that's true. While there are over 700 references to Enron in a CNN search, there are only 156 references to Martha Stewart.
 
  • #14
russ_watters said:
The coverage of Enron was constant during the breaking of the scandals and the trials got plenty of coverage. The word "enron" gets you hundreds of stories in CNN - sorting by relevance, nearly all of the first 50 were about the scandal. I don't think that's true. While there are over 700 references to Enron in a CNN search, there are only 156 references to Martha Stewart.

I don't actually watch CNN, or generally television news of any kind. That's just the impression I got given the water cooler talk. The average person seemed far more interested in what was happening with Martha. It might just be that the whole Enron scandal was so drawn-out. You can only care about it for so long.
 

1. What was the reason for the 25-year prison sentence for the ex-WorldCom CEO?

The ex-WorldCom CEO, Bernard Ebbers, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement in a massive accounting fraud that led to the collapse of the telecommunications company in 2002.

2. How much money was involved in the WorldCom accounting fraud?

The accounting fraud at WorldCom involved approximately $11 billion, making it one of the largest corporate fraud cases in history.

3. Did any other executives at WorldCom receive prison sentences?

Yes, several other top executives at WorldCom also received prison sentences for their involvement in the accounting fraud, including the former CFO, Scott Sullivan, who received a 5-year sentence.

4. What were the long-term effects of the WorldCom accounting scandal?

The collapse of WorldCom and the subsequent scandal had a significant impact on the telecommunications industry and the stock market. It also led to increased scrutiny and reforms in corporate accounting practices.

5. How did the fraud at WorldCom come to light?

The fraud at WorldCom was brought to light when an internal auditor discovered irregularities in the company's accounting records. This led to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the eventual prosecution of the executives involved.

Back
Top