Civil Suits
On October 11, 2002, WorldCom investors brought a class action civil lawsuit against Ebbers and other defendants, alleging injuries as a result of Ebbers' securities fraud violations. Judge Denise Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the parties in the lawsuit to participate in settlement negotiations. On September 21, 2005, Judge Cote approved the settlement reached by the parties, and dismissed the lawsuit against Ebbers. The parties agreed that Ebbers and his codefendants would distribute over $6.13 billion, plus interest, to over 830,000 individuals and institutions that had held stocks and bonds in WorldCom at the time of its collapse. Under the terms of the settlement, Ebbers agreed to relinquish a significant portion of his assets, including a lavish home in Mississippi, and his interests in a lumber company, a marina, a golf course, a hotel, and thousands of acres of forested real estate. On paper, Ebbers was supposedly left with around $50,000 in known assets after settlement.
Read more about this topic: Bernard Ebbers
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