Ethics Newsline®

Ebbers Loses Appeal; Court Upholds 25-Year Sentence

Jul 31st, 2006 • Posted in: News

NEW YORK
A federal appeals court last week upheld the conviction and prison sentence of former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, clearing the way for the start of his 25-year prison term.

Ebbers was convicted in 2005 of conspiracy, securities fraud, and other crimes after a jury found that he orchestrated the gigantic accounting fraud that led to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Reuters news agency reported that Ebbers had been free on bail pending his appeal.

In a 47-page ruling, the three-judge panel concluded that Ebbers’s trial was not “fundamentally flawed” and rejected his claim that the sentence was excessively harsh.

The opinion did note that 25 years “is a long sentence for a white-collar crime, longer than the sentences routinely imposed by many states for violent crimes, including murder,” Bloomberg reported.

But justice Ralph Winter, writing for the court, said that federal sentencing guidelines permit such a sentence and reflect the intent of Congress, which passed the guidelines in an effort to crack down on while-collar crime, according to an analysis from CFO Magazine.

While it now appears likely that Ebbers’s bail will be revoked, his lawyer vowed to “keep fighting” until his client is vindicated, according to a report from the BBC.

WorldCom’s 2002 collapse resulted in the loss of more than 20,000 jobs and about $180 billion in shareholder investments.

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1. Ethics Newsline » News » WorldCom Whistle-Blower Says She Would Do It Again on February 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, July 31, 2006 — Related Newsline story, June 26, 2006 — Related Newsline story, [...]

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