Telecom giant settling with SEC

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Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002 | 10:54 a.m.

NEW YORK -- WorldCom, the bankrupt long-distance carrier, struck an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to settle the civil fraud suit against the company with no immediate fine.

The settlement says that the SEC may request that the judge approve a fine in the future, whether or not the company violates the terms of the agreement. The commission described the settlement as "partial" because of that possibility.

The deal requires WorldCom to refrain from breaking securities laws. The commission sued the company on June 26, a day after WorldCom announced that it had misstated its financial results by $3.8 billion -- an amount that after subsequent disclosures now exceeds $9 billion.