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October 11, 2002 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Two former mid-level managers for bankrupt communications firm WorldCom pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of securities and conspiracy fraud for their parts in the company?s $7.2 billion accounting fraud uncovered this year.
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Betty Vinson and Troy Normand each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in Manhattan federal court. Their guilty pleas were both part of an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors.
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The two new deals make a total of four of the company?s former executives who have made arrangements with the Justice Department in its investigation into misdeeds at WorldCom.
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WorldCom?s former director of general accounting pleaded guilty earlier in the week to falsifying financial records at the request of former CFO Scott Sullivan. Lawyers close to the case say that both Vinson and Normand objected to the changes in accounting that led to the scandal at WorldCom.
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The company?s former controller David Myers pleaded guilty to similar charges last month, saying he misstated profits at the request of his superiors.
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The growing number of plea bargains places increasing pressure on Sullivan, who pleaded not guilty last month to charges of falsifying WorldCom?s books. Sullivan maintains that changes he made in the company?s accounting were legitimate under US accounting rules.
