* Also: Former Qwest CEO, others face civil SEC charges; Bush administration names new FCC head
Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers was found guilty on all nine counts against him for orchestrating the biggest corporate accounting fraud in U.S. history. Ebbers could receive up to 85 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 13. Ebbers pleaded ignorance about the $11 billion fraud, claiming he left accounting matters to subordinates. But damning testimony from former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan and e-mail correspondence showed Ebbers to be very much involved. http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2005/0315ebbers1.html
Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers was found guilty on all nine counts against him for orchestrating the biggest corporate accounting fraud in U.S. history. Ebbers could receive up to 85 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 13. Ebbers pleaded ignorance about the $11 billion fraud, claiming he left accounting matters to subordinates. But damning testimony from former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan and e-mail correspondence showed Ebbers to be very much involved.
https://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2005/0315ebbers1.html
Speaking of fraud, former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio and other ex-executives at the carrier face civil charges from the SEC in relation to accounting irregularities from 1999 to 2002. During that period, Qwest engaged in a complex scheme to improperly record more than $3 billion in revenue and exclude $17.3 million in expenses, according to the SEC. The SEC is seeking a return of fraudulently obtained profits, with interest, along with injunctions and civil penalties against the defendants. Nacchio, through his attorney, has maintained his innocence.
https://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2005/0316updat-sec.html
On a more upbeat note, the Bush administration has named FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin as the new chairman of the regulator, replacing Michael Powell who announced plans earlier this year to step down this month. Martin, a former special assistant to Bush for economic policy and a lawyer for the Bush 2000 campaign, has at times disagreed with fellow Republican Powell about how far the deregulation of incumbent local telecom carriers should go, especially with regard to UNE-P.
