The wheels of justice turn slowly, and many a rich scumbag has been able to buy his way out of his just desserts, but not today. Bernie Ebbers, the former Worldcom CEO whose accounting fraud ended up costing investors nearly $11 billion, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. If his health is nearly as bad as he claimed it was when pleading for leniency, that’s going to be the rest of his life.
According to Scott Moritz at TheStreet.com, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones rejected defense attorneys’ request for a reduced sentence. “This is not a minor fraud,” she replied. The 25 year sentence she handed down was still considerably lighter than the 85 requested by prosecutors.
U.S. prosecutors had sought a maximum 85-year sentence. Ebbers’ attorneys had pointed to the former telecom titan’s charitable contributions and poor health in an effort to get a lighter sentence. But Jones indicated Ebbers’ heart condition wasn’t “extraordinary” and said her research indicated that he could get adequate care in prison.
Jones turned down defense arguments that she should depart from federal sentencing guidelines, though she said she was impressed by his record of charitable contributions. Ebbers lawyer Reid Weingarten emphasized that point in the courtroom Wednesday, saying that some poor families had despaired of sending their children to college before “an angel” emerged. “That angel was Bernie Ebbers!” Weingarten said to some amusement in the courthouse.
It’s easy to be generous when you’re stealing 11-digit sums, isn’t it?
Ebbers will be stripped of most of his assets before going to prison. (Once auctioned off, the funds will go help recoup investors’ losses, though their total value is estimated to be well under $40 million.) He will be following on the heels of 80-year-old Adelphia founder John Rigas, who received a 15-year sentence.
Meanwhile, former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was indicted last week on 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false and misleading statements, charges which could earn him 175 years in prison.
So at least today, if the avalanche of fresh outrages from Washington gets you down, you can take some solace in knowing that justice is still occasionally served, and that wealth and power are not perfect insulation against the rule of law.
I believe that he is being left with some funds for the benefit of his wife. The sentence is probably appropriate given his circumstances. Thanks.
According to CNN:
Kristie, his wife, will keep a modest home in Mississippi and roughly $50,000 to live on.
Oh, but she’ll still have more than some folks in Miss.
This is one time when justice was done. It’s an infrequent occurrence, but it’s done this time. The man’s name is curse word in our household. He just absolutely wrecked the company…wrecked everything…and now he’s going to pay.
As a Mississippian, I have watched Ebbers rise from very near the beginning of his telecom career. His rise was full of risky, possibly shady acquisition deals. His fraudulence and subsequent conviction and sentencing is no surprise to me. It has been coming for many years. I am glad to be rid of him, but I feel great sympathy for those who were taken in and lost investments due to his bookkeeping fiasco.
Justice is done. Hoorah! Now can we hurry up and frog-march Kennyboy Lay into prison, too?
Good news. Now, how many years are Bush et al going to spend in jail for defrauding the American public by handing out special contracts to Halliburton in Iraq and not accounting for every penny spent on the so-called reconstruction efforts? By contrast, Ebbers $11 billion fraud looks like a drop in the bucket.
Having said that, I hope the families he defrauded will find some justice in this sentence and that they will benefit from the sale of his assets as those affected by the Enron scandal now will since that federal suit has been settled.
I’m not holding my breath on anyone in the Bush administration doing hard time. I will be satisfied and grateful if the administration is merely destroyed politically as a result of its misdeeds.
Credit for charity?
Sheesh. So 1% of 100’s of millions of stolen money is worthy of consideration of reduced sentencing. How much consideration can one get for 10% of say 45K a year? Yeah, that’s what I thought…
So… how much do you figure these crooks “pre-donated” for their upcoming pardons in say Dec 2008?
Its not like Mr Bush has shown the slightest concern for public reaction on issues that he really cares about. And after the election for his successor, why should he?