Oakdale, La. – Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers drove through the gates of a federal prison Tuesday to begin a 25-year sentence for his role in the $11 billion accounting fraud that toppled the company he built from a tiny telecommunications firm to an industry giant.
Behind the wheel of a Mercedes he had driven from Mississippi, Ebbers pulled the bill of his cap down, shielding his face from reporters and photographers, as he drove into the prison.
Ebbers left his upscale, brick- and-stucco home in a gated community in the Jackson suburb of Ridgeland on Tuesday morning for the five-hour drive.
At his home Monday, he had refused to answer any questions and told an Associated Press reporter to leave.
“You’re not even supposed to be on this property,” said Ebbers, 65, who answered the door wearing a light blue golf shirt and blue jeans.
Ebbers walked outside, with a cigar in his mouth, to watch the reporter leave his property.
Ebbers, a former high school basketball coach, was sentenced in July 2005 after he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the massive fraud that drove Clinton, Miss.-based WorldCom into bankruptcy in 2002.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Ebbers’ conviction and sentence last month. His attorney has said they will continue to appeal, but he has few options, said Ron Rychlak, associate dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law.
