Ebbers

In 2005, a judge in New York sentenced former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers to for his part in what was described as the largest fraud in U.S. corporate history.

At time of sentencing, Ebbers was 63 years old.

By that time, WorldCom’s stock price was decreasing, and banks were placing increasing demands on Ebbers to cover margin calls on his WorldCom stock that were used to finance his other businesses ( timber and yachting, among others).

In 2001, Ebbers persuaded WorldCom’s board of directors to provide him corporate loans and guarantees in excess of $400 million to cover his margin calls.

On March 15, 2005, Bernard Ebbers was found guilty of all charges and convicted of fraud, conspiracy and filing false documents with regulators—- all related to the $11 billion accounting scandal.

The board hoped that the loans would avert the need for Ebbers to sell substantial amounts of his WorldCom stock, as his doing so would result in a further decrease of the stock's price.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and former CEO Bernard Ebbers was convicted of fraud and conspiracy.