Former senior WorldCom executive Mr David Myers, pleaded guilty today to fraud in connection with a multi-billion dollar accounting scandal that brought the telecom giant to its knees.
Mr Myers, the company's former comptroller, told a federal court in Manhattan that his role in the scandal was dictated by the orders of other top company executives.
"I was instructed by senior management to make entries in WorldCom's books to increase WorldCom's reported earnings for which I knew there was no justification," he told Judge Richard Casey in a statement.
Mr Myers pleaded guilty to charges of filing false returns with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as securities fraud and conspiracy.
The most serious charge carries a possible 10-year jail term. Sentencing has been set for December 26th.
Mr Myers is the first WorldCom employee to admit any guilt in the scandal that led to one of the largest bankruptcies in US corporate history.
Mr Myers, who has been cooperating with the Justice Department's investigation into WorldCom, is expected to help prosecutors strengthen their case against the company's former chief financial officer, Mr Scott Sullivan.
Mr Sullivan pleaded not guilty earlier this month to fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with hiding billions of dollars of company expenses.
Investigators are also reportedly trying to build a case against WorldCom's former ceo Mr Bernie Ebbers who resigned in April and has yet to be indicted.
AFP