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Houston's Clear Thinkers (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
... following: "Why, then, does Madoff get a sentence six times that of [former WorldCom CEO Bernie] Ebbers or Enron’s Jeff Skilling?" I mean, really. Is the answer to that question all that difficult? Madoff turns himself in and admits from the outset that he was stealing money from investors for years by running a Ponzi scheme. Any wonder why he was hammered by the sentencing judge? Ebbers...
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PrawfsBlawg (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
... of improving ethical norms within corporations. If greed had driven Jeffrey Skilling and Bernie Ebbers, then compliance programs were needed to improve organizational culture. Finally, there was a third view of compliance - that it would improve deliberation within companies. Specifically, employees would feel empowered to speak up and take action when it appeared their supervisors were...
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Reuters UK (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
... longer than the 25-year and 24-year prison terms being served by former Chief Executives Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom Inc and Jeffrey Skilling of Enron.At an emotional hearing in Manhattan federal court on Monday, Judge Denny Chin said the symbolism of any sentence above 20 or 25 years, effectively life for the 71-year-old Madoff, was important."The judge could have accomplished the same result,...
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Sox First (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
Much has been said about Bernard Madoff's 150 year prison sentence. The Los Angeles Times : his sentence is a lot shorter than what was handed out to the likes of Denis Kozlowski (8 to 25 years), Bernie Ebbers (25 years) and Jeff Skilling 24 years and 4 months).Madoff's attorney Lee Sorkin has described the sentence as "absurd". Appearing on the Today, and as reported in the , Sorkin said the...
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Finlay ON Governance (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... deter future offenders.What it will do is minimize by comparison the crimes of people like Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowksi and others who are serving 25-year terms for their frauds.That is a mistake.What has been created is a scenario where every new boardroom villain and Wall Street fraudster, no matter how atrocious their crimes, will be able to claim “at least I wasn’t as bad as Madoff,”...
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Raw Story (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... to overstate the magnitude of this crime. As awful as the frauds committed by Ken Lay, Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Koslowski and others were, they were nothing compared to Madoff's astonishing highway robbery. The greed motivated antics of AIG, J.P. Morgan-Chase, Citigroup and others that precipitated our financial prat-fall were mere peccadillos next to his overarching evil. Evil it is, too....
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Sentencing Law and Policy (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
... due to his decision to plead guilty and also because this was double the 25 years given to Bernie Ebbers for what was previously thought to be the biggest corporate fraud sentenced in New York federal courts. But the government argued for a maximum permissible statutory sentencing term of 150 years in prison, and Judge Denny Chin apparently decided that only this term was "sufficient, but...
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Repman (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... the rules governing mortal men simply don’t apply to them. One needs only to think of, say, Bernie Ebbers, Bernie Madoff, Dennis Kozlowski or Jeff Skilling to prove the point. I think CEOs think social media is for the hoi polloi. They don’t need, or want, to dirty their hands by interacting with the masses. They already have their hands full with such irritants as analyst calls, CNBC interviews...
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News.com.au (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... high-profile white-collar fraud in recent years, such as former Worldcom chief executive Bernard Ebbers, 67, and Adelphia Communications founder John Rigas. Mr Ebbers is serving 25 years in prison, while Mr Rigas, 84, is serving 12 years in prison."By giving this sentence (the judge) tried to send a clear message to victims he heard their pleas for justice," said Paul Radvany, a Fordham...
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USA Today (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... financial Hall of Shame, but also business leaders such as Enron's Ken Lay and WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers. While they, too, got what they deserved, their sentences did little to stop the tide of fraud, let alone the reprehensible but legal bilking of shareholders that became the norm on Wall Street this decade.It is hard to believe that Madoff's 150 years will do much better.(Madoff photo...
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Salt Lake Tribune (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... and served a year in prison for helping him hide ill-gotten gains from his schemes. -- Bernard Ebbers, 67, former chief of WorldCom, imprisoned in September 2006 on 25-year sentence for his role in $11 billion accounting fraud that toppled his telecommunications company. The federal bureau of prisons lists his projected release date as July 4, 2028. -- Dennis Kozlowski, 62, CEO of Tyco International,...
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Fool.co.uk (Free subscription) | 06/30/2009
... his sentence is substantially more severe than other high-profile fraud cases like 's Bernie Ebbers (25 years in prison) and Martha Stewart, who served five months in jail on charges stemming from favourably timed sales of ImClone Systems. (Note to future parents: Avoid the name "Bernie.")Stewart's share sales saved her about $50,000, according to MSNBC. Madoff stole billions of dollars...
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New York Newsday (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
... corporate giants spending their golden years at federal correctional institutions are Bernard Ebbers, 67, who got 25 years in the case; John Rigas, 84, who got 15 years for the Adelphia fraud; and Jeffrey Skilling, 55, convicted in the Enron case, serving 24 years.Ebbers is doing time in Oakdale Federal Correctional Institution in . Rigas is at Butner Low FCI in and Skilling is doing...
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Money & Company (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
... of insider trading. He began serving his time in April, but has requested a new trial. • Bernard Ebbers , former chief of WorldCom , was sentenced to 25 years in 2006 for his role in the $11-billion accounting fraud that toppled his telecom company. • John Rigas , founder of cable television company Adelphia Communications , was convicted in 2004 on charges including securities and bank...
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L. A. Times Dodgers Blog (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
... experts say a life sentence isn't a certainty despite the magnitude of the crime.Bernard J. Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom Inc. who was convicted in 2005 of orchestrating an $11-billion accounting fraud, is serving 25 years in prison. Madoff could theoretically get a lighter sentence, some experts say, because, among other things, he saved the government the time and expense...