WorldCom: an $11 billion accounting fraud and a record bankruptcy
Reported: WorldCom WCOM (Company)
Compiled by ScamMarketCap from public recordsHappened Jun 25, 2002United States
- $11B
- Total accounting misstatements
- 0
- People affected
Reported: WorldCom WCOM (Company)
Compiled by ScamMarketCap from public recordsHappened Jun 25, 2002United States
WorldCom, a US telecommunications company, revealed in June 2002 that an internal audit had found $3.8 billion in accounting errors. Much of the fraud involved booking expenses as long-term capital spending, and the misstatements eventually reached $11 billion. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy in July 2002, then the largest in US history, and its shares, once worth more than $60, fell to pennies.
Former chief executive Bernard Ebbers was convicted of securities fraud and other charges in March 2005 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. An appeals court upheld the conviction in 2006. A judge ordered him released in December 2019 because of failing health, and he died in February 2020.
Investors recovered about $6.1 billion in settlements, including $2.58 billion from Citigroup and $2 billion from JPMorgan. Separately, the $750 million civil penalty WorldCom paid in the SEC's case went into a fund for defrauded investors, which received nearly 450,000 claims.
This case file is compiled from public records and established reporting. Status as of the last update, Nov 1, 2026.
Case files summarize court records, regulator actions and established reporting.
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