Ex-WorldCom directors to pay investors $18m

[emad]

Times
From Abigail Rayner in New York



TEN former WorldCom directors will pay a record $18 million (£9.6 million) of their own money to settle claims from investors who lost millions in the biggest corporate meltdown in history.
The agreement served as a warning to America’s business elite, who stood by as the executives prepared to hand over a total of $18 million to institutional investors. The proposed deal is part of a $54 million settlement with a number of investors, led by the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Each director will pay an amount equal to 20 per cent of their net wealth, excluding their main homes and pensions.

Insurers typically cover directors’ liabilities. However, in this case the size of the payout, which would have been decided by a trial, could have exceeded the $100 million (£53 million) covered by policies.

Michael Klausner of Stanford University said: “The directors would not have settled unless they thought there was a reasonable chance of losing at trial, which means they knew their facts were bad. If they lost at trial, the liability would be higher than the insurance.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1429288,00.html

[gratuitous]

1. Okay, that takes care of part of the civil penalty

Now, where's the criminal penalty for these thieves?

And these are the sort of people that Bush and the Republicans want to turn your social security program over to -- don't you just feel safer and more secure already?

[amazona]

2. my friend lost 6 figures to WorldCOm

And he didn't have it to lose. A lot of people in the south thought it was a good local company.

Will the investors actually be getting some money back? How will it be distributed?

[liberal N proud]

3. Quick buy a bigger house dear...

excluding their main homes and pensions.
What a crock.
I can not access the article direct while at work. Is there anything about the employees that WorldCom screwed?
My sister-in-law and niece both lost their jobs and a nephew was told he only had a couple of weeks 3 times but they so far have kept him on.
I know there are a lot of WorldCom employees still out of work.