Bernie Ebbers gets 25 years for history’s biggest
corporate fraud

US District Judge Barbara S Jones imposed a 25 year jail sentence on Bernie Ebbers in a packed court-room on 13 July 2005. This is the hardest prison sentence for any economic
offence and as bad as the one meted out to mafia dons. For someone who is already 63 this amounts to a life sentence.

Earlier 80 year old founder of Adelpia Communications Corporation., John J Riger, received a 15 year prison sentence. Two weeks ago an Alabama jury acquitted former HealthSouth
Corpn. chief executive Richard Scrushy on 36 charges of fraud and conspiracy. Tyco chairman Dennis Kozlowski is still to be sentenced and Enron leaders Kenneth Lay and Skilling are still awaiting trial in Houston in January 2006.

WCFCG President Madhav Mehra was asked by CNN to comment on the punishment on the day sentencing was done. Mehra stated “corporate frauds have lowered public confidence in the US stock market so much that 67% of those polled in a survey said they distrusted quarterly reports and 45% thought stock markets a sure way to ruin. US economy acts as a growth engine for the world economy. Bernie Ebbers defrauded shareholders of $11 billion and committed the largest fraud in US history. Courts naturally want to send a strong message to wrong doers that such corporate malfeasance will not be tolerated.