WorldCom's former director of general accounting pleaded guilty today to two felony charges connected with the accounting fraud that led to the telephone company's collapse.
Mr Buford Yates entered guilty pleas to one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one charge of securities fraud.
Mr Yates made the pleas in an appearance before US Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck in Manhattan.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the fraud charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
In August, a grand jury indicted Mr Yates and WorldCom's former chief financial officer, Mr Scott Sullivan, on fraud and conspiracy charges. The men were charged with scheming to hide billions of dollars in expenses, inflating the earnings of the No. 2 US long-distance phone company and helping to precipitate its collapse this summer into the world's largest bankruptcy filing.
Mr Yates initially had pleaded not guilty to those charges. Mr Sullivan also has pleaded not guilty.