WorldCom's Betty Vinson gets 5 months in jail

Jeff Clabaugh
Staff Reporter
Washington Business Journal

Former WorldCom accountant Betty Vinson, who testified for the prosecution in its case against Bernie Ebbers, was sentenced to five months in prison and five months home detention for her role in WorldCom's accounting scandal.

Vinson, 49, was also sentenced to three years probation.

Her sentencing comes a week before former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, 43, is sentenced for his role in the company's fraud. Sullivan was considered a star witness for the prosecution, which called him a model cooperator.

Former chief executive Ebbers was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison. Ebbers, 63, is appealing the sentence.

WorldCom, which now operates as MCI (NASDAQ: MCIP), in 2002 filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, after disclosing an $11 billion accounting fraud.