Scott D. Sullivan is the former

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, and a

board member A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

WorldCom MCI, Inc. (formerly WorldCom and MCI WorldCom) was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunicatio ...

, who was convicted as part of WorldCom's $11 billion accounting fraud, at the time the largest scandal of its kind in U.S. history.

Biography

Sullivan attended

Bethlehem Central High School Bethlehem Central High School is a public high school in Delmar, New York, just south of Albany. Located at 700 Delaware Avenue, the school serves students in grades 9–12 from the towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland. The school was ranked 36 ...

Delmar, New York Delmar is a hamlet in the Town of Bethlehem, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of the neighboring city of Albany. The community is bisected by NY Route 443 (Delaware Avenue), a major thoroughfare, main street, and route ...

. He graduated from the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in Oswego, New York. It has a total student population of 6,756 and the campus size is 700 acres. SUNY Oswego offers more than 120 undergraduate, graduate ...

in 1983, and was awarded the Anniversary Class Award for alumni in 1998. Sullivan was CFO, treasurer and secretary of WorldCom from December 1994 to December 2002, and was its executive vice president from April 2002. During this time, he put on ostentatious displays of wealth, including building a mansion in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. In 2002, WorldCom learned of improper accounting at the company. Sullivan was asked to resign by the company's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

; he refused, and was fired.Jeter, p
xx
Retrieved March 21, 2016. In August of that year, Sullivan was arrested and charged with seven counts related to fraud at WorldCom. Sullivan entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to five years in prison as part of a

plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

in which Sullivan testified against former WorldCom CEO

Bernard Ebbers Bernard John Ebbers (August 27, 1941 – February 2, 2020) was a Canadian-American businessman and the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom. Under his management, WorldCom grew rapidly but collapsed in 2002 amid revelations of accounting irregulariti ...

, who received a 25-year sentence (the maximum sentence that Sullivan could have received if he had not accepted the plea agreement and was found guilty). Sullivan was released from jail in August 2009, after serving four years of his sentence. He was required to be on

home confinement House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

for another three years. He returned to Boca Raton, but not to his mansion, which had been sold.

References

American accountants State University of New York at Oswego alumni Living people American people convicted of fraud American businesspeople convicted of crimes American chief financial officers Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-business-bio-stub