WorldCom Ex-Exec Faces SEC Charges

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges alleging fraud against WorldCom Inc.’s former general accounting director hours after he admitted playing a criminal role in the telephone giant’s financial collapse.

The SEC’s action against Buford Yates, 46, alleged he “participated in a massive fraud that inflated the company’s earnings at the direction and with the knowledge of WorldCom’s senior management.”

Earlier in the day, Yates pleaded guilty to two felony charges that he conspired to commit and committed securities fraud, saying his supervisors told him to make “adjustments” to the company’s books.

The SEC’s action seeks a return of all ill-gotten gains, civil fines and to bar Yates from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

Meanwhile, WorldCom’s board of directors may revoke the $1.5-million annual pension awarded to former Chief Executive Bernard J. Ebbers after he resigned in April, sources said.