Conviction Upheld for WorldCom’s Ebbers

A federal appeals court upheld the securities fraud conviction of former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers, who will probably begin serving a 25-year prison term for leading an $11-billion fraud.

Ebbers, 64, who built a small telephone company into the second-largest U.S. long-distance provider, has been free on bail at his Mississippi home pending the outcome of his appeal since he was sentenced a year ago.

The ruling by the New York court means Ebbers is unlikely to stay out of jail much longer. The judge probably will revoke Ebbers’ bail, said Robert Heim, a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney now at Meyers & Heim.