Ex-WorldCom chief Ebbers seeks new trial

NEW YORK -- Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers, who was convicted last month of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud, asked for a new trial, citing unfair rulings by the judge.

In court papers made public Monday, attorneys for Ebbers said U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones should have granted immunity to three former WorldCom executives who were reluctant to testify. The defense claims they could have helped prove Ebbers' innocence.

Attorneys also said the judge told jurors they could find Ebbers guilty based on "conscious avoidance." They said this allowed the jury to convict Ebbers because he "should have known" about the fraud.

They said Ebbers's defense should have been allowed to argue that the way WorldCom counted its revenue complied with generally accepted accounting principles.

"These errors seriously compromised the fairness of the trial," the attorneys said in the Friday-dated request for a new trail that was sent to Jones.

Ebbers, 63, was convicted March 15 of securities fraud, conspiracy and filing seven false reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. WorldCom collapsed in 2002, but has since emerged from bankruptcy to operate under the name MCI Inc.

He testified the fraud was the brainchild of chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, and that he was kept in the dark.