Ebbers Seen Getting a Stiff Prison Term

Reuters
July 11, 2005

NEW YORK - Former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers likely will get a stiff prison term that could last the rest of his life when he is sentenced by a U.S. judge this week, legal experts said Monday.

The one-time milkman and high school sports coach, who was convicted in March of orchestrating the largest business fraud in U.S. history, likely will receive 10 to 20 years in prison — or possibly more — when he is sentenced on Wednesday, experts said.

For the 63-year-old Ebbers, that essentially could mean a life sentence, probably at a minimum security federal facility where other white-collar criminals have been incarcerated.

Ebbers is “a little bit on uncharted ground because of the size of the fraud,” said Robert Giuffra, a partner at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. “You could be looking at a lifetime sentence almost, though whether the judge will actually impose that sentence or not, I don’t know.”

The ex-WorldCom chief was convicted in March on nine counts of conspiracy, securities fraud and filing false statements with regulators stemming from the $11 billion accounting scandal. His lawyers have vowed to appeal...