WorldCom and US regulators are in talks to settle fraud charges against the company as investigators made more accusations about its practices, US newspapers report today.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the New York Timesand the Wall Street Journalreported the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could come to an agreement with WorldCom in the massive fraud case within a week or two.
Under the proposed plan, the SEC would ask a federal judge to dismiss the fraud charges the commission brought against the company in June, the Timesreports.
Under the terms of the deal, WorldCom would have to pay millions of dollars in fines, but the exact amount of the payments would not be set until early next year, the paper said.
The SEC is also expected to settle charges against several individuals, who sources say are low- to mid-level executives not subject to charges by federal prosecutors, the Wall Street Journalreported.
Yesterday, an examiner in the WorldCom bankruptcy case said the company took "extraordinary and illegal steps" to manipulate its financial records and predicted it would have to restate its results beyond the $7.68 billion already disclosed.