Ebbers Motivated by Money, Pressure, Prosecutor Says

Money, power and pressure combined to form a “perfect storm of corruption” that led former WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers to commit an enormous fraud, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday in closing arguments.

And Ebbers’ testimony that he was unfamiliar with finance and accounting is little more than a deceitful effort to avoid punishment -- an “aw-shucks defense,” prosecutor William Johnson told jurors.

“He lied right to your face,” Johnson said. “The aw-shucks defense insults your intelligence. You know better.”

Judge Barbara Jones said the defense would present its closing argument Thursday morning, and she said jurors may begin deliberations in the afternoon.

The prosecutor portrayed Ebbers, 63, on Wednesday as a temperamental manager who became the commanding general of an “army of fraud” at WorldCom. Five other executives pleaded guilty in the $11-billion accounting scandal at the company now known as MCI Inc.

Ebbers had the most to lose -- including $400 million in personal loans backed by WorldCom stock -- if the company’s true, sagging finances became public, Johnson said.