NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- WorldCom Inc. founder Bernard Ebbers, facing life in prison for the world's biggest corporate fraud, is turning over nearly all his assets to burned investors.
He will make an initial payment of $5 million in cash and transfer assets worth between $25 million and $40 million to the trust, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Ebbers was found guilty in March of fraud and conspiracy in an $11 billion accounting debacle that eventually drove WorldCom, now reorganized as MCI Inc., into bankruptcy.
The transfer of monies will settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit and still leave enough to pay legal bills and provide a modest living for his wife, the government said in a news release.
As part of the settlement, prosecutors will not seek restitution at his sentencing July 13. Prosecutors have recommended 85 years in prison for the 63-year-old Ebbers.
