Former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison yestderday after being denied a new trial the day before.
Ebbers’ sentence comes as a result of his conviction back in March on charges of securities fraud and other other charges that led to the bankruptcy of WorldCom in 2002.
Ebbers’ request for a new trial was based on his claim that three witnesses should have been granted immunity in the original trial. He claimed that this would have helped his case. The judge, however did not feel the same way.
“I find that none of these new grounds requires a new trial,” wrote Judge Barbara Jones in a ruling. “Defendant fails to show that the government has used immunity to gain a tactical advantage over him, or that the testimony of Beaumont, Lomenzo or Scott would be exculpatory” Erin McClam of AP writes,
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.
“The enormity of the crimes that Ebbers committed cannot be overstated: The fraud at WorldCom was the largest securities fraud in history,” said the prosecutors.
Ebbers may have been the first to be sentenced, but he is not the only one going down for this case. Five other former executives who pleaded guilty have sentencing coming before the end of the summer.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
