WorldCom Cooperating Defendants Face Sentencing

The five former WorldCom officers and employees who entered guilty pleas and cooperated with the government's investigation that led to the successful prosecution of former CEO Bernie Ebbers will be sentenced in the first two weeks of August.  The schedule of appearances before U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones (see U.S. Attorney's Office press release here) is:

Betty L. Vinson: August 5, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.

Troy M. Normand: August 5, 2005 at 2:00 p.m.

Buford T. Yates: August 9, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.

David F. Myers: August 10, 2005 at 2:00 p.m.

Scott D. Sullivan: August 11, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.

The order of appearances approximates the level of responsibility of the defendants in the company, with Vinson and Normand in the accounting department under the supervision of Yates.  Myers was the corporate controller who oversaw Yates' department and reported to Sullivan, WorldCom's CFO and effectively the second ranking executive on the financial side of the company under Ebbers.  The government has filed a 5K1.1 motion on behalf of Sullivan (see earlier post here) seeking a downward departure under the advisory Sentencing Guidelines.  Ebbers received a 25-year sentence from Judge Jones, which included a modest downward departure, so the 5K1.1 motion probably will drop Sullivan's sentence significantly, although I would be surprised if he did not receive a term of imprisonment much greater than the other four cooperating defendants, given his role in the fraud that triggered the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. (ph)