Judge Okays $6.1B in WorldCom Payouts

A U.S. District Judge in Manhattan approved settlements to return more than $6.1 billion to investors who lost money in telecommunications company WorldCom Inc.'s historic accounting fraud.

The deals will divide payment among approximately 830,000 people and institutions that held stocks or bonds in the company when it collapsed in 2002, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Erroneously declared revenues and expenses led to the discovery of an $11 billion accounting fraud at WorldCom, which now operates under the name MCI Inc., which led to billions in losses for investors.