Some Commentary Provided By Ben Silverman and DotComScoop.com
Questions, Comments or News Tips to Editor@WorldComNews.com

E-mails From Past and Present WorldCom Employees, Investors and Consumers

Litigation Station - a listing of WorldCom lawsuits

Tuesday August 13, 2002 @ 8:03 AM EDT

• Simply put, you've been WorldConned. The site has a very good resource page, and I ain't just saying that because they say something nice about me.
  Tuesday August 13, 2002 @ 7:53 AM EDT

• Heh, surprise! We own an 11.3 percent stake in WorldCom, Deutsche Bank sheepishly admitted in an SEC filing.

• That mansion former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan is building could be snatched away from him. Why? "Until the home is completed and occupied, Sullivan wouldn't qualify for a homestead-exemption claim. Under Florida law, it allows residents to keep their home assets safe from creditors, for example, should they file for bankruptcy protection, officials say," USA Today reports. Sullivan has not, to anyone's knowledge, filed for personal bankruptcy protection.

• WorldCom's sketchy bookkeeping and that of other telecoms proves that profit is hard to come by in the sector. So is honesty and decent service apparently.

• The New York State Common Retirement Fund was was named the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against WorldCom. The Fund lost over $300 million. The Kentucky Teacher's Retirement System Fund also got into the action.

• Own a piece of history. Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers is trying to sell his Canadian ranch. One of his neighbors is looking to pick up the 500,000-acre property.

• WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore welcomes CRO Greg Rayburn and CFO John Dubel to the jungle:
  -----Original Message-----
  From: John Sidgmore
  Sent: 13 August 2002 05:48
  Subject: A Message from John
  To all WorldCom Employees,
  The process of Chapter 11 protection is as new to me as it is to you. And, as you know, the recent troubling events have left us without either a Chief Financial Officer or an executive with bankruptcy reorganization expertise. We, therefore, have sought leaders in both fields to guide us through this period of WorldCom's restructuring.
  I would like to introduce to you Greg Rayburn and John Dubel, and ask you to join me in welcoming them to the company. Greg is our Chief Restructuring Officer and John is our Chief Financial Officer. They are both principals of AlixPartners, one of the world's premier corporate restructuring firms. Both report directly to me. We believe we can navigate this crisis in WorldCom's history together -- helping us emerge as one of the preeminent telecommunications companies in the world.
  Their appointments are yet another important step in moving WorldCom forward, distancing us from the troubling events of our past. They are two of the most highly qualified and experienced restructuring executives available - you deserve the best and we brought them to you, to us, WorldCom.
  Some of you have already met them and have started working together, and I believe you would agree with me that their contributions are already making a positive difference.
  For background, Greg joined AlixPartners in August 2000. Most recently he acted as both CEO and CRO in the successful restructuring of Sunterra Corporation. Prior to that, he was president and co-founder of The Capstone Group, a private investment partnership. Greg is a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. He belongs to the Turnaround Management Association, the American Institute of Public Accountants, and the American Bankruptcy Institute.
  Prior to joining AlixPartners in 2002, John Dubel ran his own turnaround firm. During that time he served as CRO and COO at CellNet Data Systems, Inc. John is a Certified Insolvency and Reorganization Accountant, a past board member and officer of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisers, and a member of the Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute.
  Greg, John and their firm have demonstrated financial acumen and a reputation for building consensus and achieving results, while operating with the highest ethical standards - something I strive to restore to WorldCom as a company. I know I can count on all of you to give Greg, John and their staff from AlixPartners your full cooperation in our company-wide effort to emerge from Chapter 11 as quickly as possible and as a strong and effective competitor, while continuing to provide our customers with great service.
  I know how hard we are all fighting to keep WorldCom thriving. Lately, it seems that with every turn we face a new challenge - but, our new management team and I are doing our best to restore WorldCom to the world class company we have all fought to create.
  Thank you again for your continued dedication, hard work and support.
  John Sidgmore
  ----
  WorldCom, Inc. Corporate Employee Communications
  Monday August 12, 2002 @ 2:59 PM EDT

• An update on my rumor item about Skytel from earlier this morning. A few sources are now indicating that Skytel management will buyout the company from WorldCom and spin it off as separate, venture-backed entity. Skytel is WorldCom's paging unit and is classified as a wireless asset, which were already up for sale. The company was launched thirty years and after various acquisitions and asset sales became a wholly-owned subsidiary of WorldCom in October 1999. As I mentioned earlier, former Skytel CEO John Stupka, who was working at WorldCom corporate as Sr. VP of the wireless unit, resigned from WorldCom last week. However, Stupka told The Clarion-Ledger that he would be taking some time off before pursuing life in the academic arena. But Skytel sources say that since WorldCom's original accounting problem disclosure, former Skytel executives were being shuttled back from WorldCom corporate to the paging company, which was essentially up for sale already. Air2Lan Chairman and CEO Jai P. Bhagat is rumored to be involved in the Skytel spin-off. Baghat was the Vice-Chairman and CEO of Skytel before the WorldCom merger. Whatever happens, it appears some big changes are imminent at Skytel.
  Monday August 12, 2002 @ 2:03 PM EDT

• Dow Jones Newswire columnist Michael Rapoport emailed me this afternoon after reading my little rant about why WorldCom's stock is worthless. Rapoport pointed me towards a July 22 column he wrote on the subject (Note: If the link doesn't work, you'll need a WSJ.com account or you may be able to find it on Quicken.com, which carries some DJ content). But under fair usage, I'll excerpt a few key points Rapoport makes:
  "WorldCom's bankruptcy filing, the biggest in U.S. history, means that its common stock will almost certainly be declared worthless once the company reorganizes. But that seems to cut no ice with wild-eyed stock investors. They've bid WorldCom stock up post-bankruptcy the same way they've done with a number of other stocks the past few years, as detailed in this column, including Enron Corp. (ENRNQ), Fruit of the Loom Ltd. and Planet Hollywood International Inc."
  "Here's the rationale, one more time: When a company files for bankruptcy, the people with claims against the company get their money back in a very specific order, prescribed by law. First come the lenders who have provided the company with the debtor-in-possession financing it needs to keep operating. Then come the lenders and bondholders with claims secured by the company's assets. The comes unsecured lenders and bondholders, and suppliers and vendors to whom the company owes money.
  In this system, common shareholders get treated like the bankruptcy-court equivalent of pond scum. They get paid dead last, only after everyone else has had their claims satisfied. And because money is in short supply for any bankrupt company - if it weren't, the company probably wouldn't need to file for bankruptcy in the first place - what this means in practice is that there's almost never any money left by the time shareholders get their turn. When a company comes out of Chapter 11, its common stock is typically cancelled, to be replaced by new equity on which the old shareholders have no claim."
  The article gets VERY specific about the true value of WorldCom's assets as compared to its debt, and what the actual shareholder value for WorldCom was as of March 31, 2002. We all know what's happened since then.
  Rapoport ends his column on this note:
  "Think of it as the greater-fool theory in practice: Some investors buying in to WorldCom understand the bankruptcy process full well, and they know further that many investors DON'T understand it. They figure they'll buy the stock and unload it for a quick profit on some poor sucker who doesn't understand how bankruptcy works, and who actually thinks he's making a killing by buying WorldCom at 14 cents a share.
  Resist the temptation, folks. Understand what's going on; don't let the vultures take advantage of you, and don't be a vulture yourself. And if you buy WorldCom stock, you're doing it at your own (very great) risk."
  I agree one-hundred percent with Rapoport's assessment of the situation. Folks, I'm not trying to fool you on this issue, I'm trying to protect you. If you're a WorldCom common shareholder who bought in before June 25 (or around that date) it's time to move on. You will not be able to recover any value from the stock. Join a class action lawsuit, write your elected leaders, do whatever. But don't sit around thinking you'll be able to get your money back by holding onto the stock and one-day selling it. It's not going to happen. Just some friendly advice.
  Monday August 12, 2002 @ 11:10 AM EDT

• Rumor: There's a buzz around Skytel, WorldCom's paging unit. A tipster says there is an all-hands meeting scheduled at the company tomorrow, possibly to inform employees about its sale. Former Skytel President and CEO John Stupka resigned from his post WorldCom last week. Stupka's departure was unexpected because after the accounting scandal hit, according to insiders, Stupka was put back in charge of Skytel to prep it for a sale. Skytel is part of WorldCom's wireless business and the company has said for months that it would sell off its wireless assets. One Skytel-er speculated that Stupka's departure from WorldCom was to avoid conflict of interest in the Skytel sale, which could mean a management-led buyout of the unit. Stupka is widely regarded as one of the better executives at WorldCom, at least that's what I've heard. He appears to be respected by the honest, hard-working folks at the company. It will be interesting to see if Skytel has been sold or spun off. While insiders say Skytel is actually a profitable unit, industry executives I polled a few weeks ago expressed no interest in the company. Skytel's main assets appear to be government contracts.
  Monday August 12, 2002 @ 4:20 AM EDT

• If you didn't see it before, here is the email WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore sent to employees last week regarding the company's latest accounting problem disclosure.

• WorldCom COO Ron Beaumont addressed some of the company's employees last Wednesday, one day before the company announced an additional $3.5 billion in fuzzy math. A WorldCom employee who was present took notes and was kind enough to share them with me. You can read what Beaumont had to say in this week's version of Dotcom Scoop's Rumor Mongering newsletter. Shareholders take note; Beaumont told WorldCom employees that the stock is worthless. Beaumont also said that there would be more layoffs and the company's future would involve a name change and, get this, an IPO down the road. I never give advice to investors, it's none of my business what you do with your money, but the people who don't want to face reality, or don't want to understand why WorldCom stock is worthless, don't waste your time pontificating on the matter. The stock is worthless. Sidgmore and Beaumont have both told employees this. It's on the pink sheets for the love of dog. Don't look at other companies that went bankrupt as examples of how a company can reemerge with common shareholders retaining some value. Every bankruptcy case is different, and with WorldCom's debt and continuing accounting revelations, if you're holding stock, you're holding a worthless piece of paper that is being manipulated by people who want to make a quick buck. That's my take on it. If you want though, read what the idiots on the WorldCom message board on Yahoo have to say. WorldCom is alternately part of a vast-right wing conspiracy, the Jews attempt to takeover the world (yeah, I'm helping my tribesman do that) and some sort of Confederate revival. It's actually hilarious reading when you realize when these people are talking about the company in terms of the stock, shareholder value, etc., it is akin to having a conversation about a defunct baseball team's performance. For a quicker read, check out the prevailing sentiment about me among AT&T shareholders.

• WorldCom creditors want to review the company's books prior to 1999. "People close to WorldCom said the company has no plans to actively look back beyond 1999 but will "follow up on credible complaints" if any surface for earlier years. In a statement last week, WorldCom said it will continue to announce accounting errors in previous financial statements "if it discovers additional accounting issues." An internal investigation into WorldCom's accounting irregularities is also continuing and is being led by William McLucas," Dow Jones Newswires report.

• Analysts, bankers and homeless people agree; WorldCom's latest disclosure could be the final nail in the company's coffin. "Several bankers, analysts and lawyers said they are not yet writing WorldCom's obituary -- although they are keeping their pens handy," Reuters reports.

• Ah, accounting babble here. WorldCom's use of cookie jar reserves isn't good. Microsoft, Sunbeam and Xerox are just three companies who have gotten in trouble for it.

• Since the latest accounting fraud disclosure, fears are growing as to whether the company will be able reemerge from bankruptcy intact.

• It's entirely possible that someone could ask the bankruptcy judge to appoint an independent trustee to oversee the management of WorldCom. Shit, I'll do it.

• WorldCom's immediate future is hold. Until the company's finances are completely combed over, creditors will just have to wait and the company probably won't be able to sell any assets. "Even if WorldCom's creditors asked the bankruptcy judge overseeing WorldCom's case to sell key assets or liquidate the company, it would be almost impossible to find buyers until the company can promise there will be no more major accounting surprises," Christopher Stern of The Washington Post writes.

• More job cuts could be on the way following WorldComGate Part II. See the Beaumont item for more info.

• Did Bernie know? Scott Waller of The Clarion-Ledger suggests that Bernie Ebbers may have a defense, but Scott Sullivan is, how do you say, screwed.
  Friday August 9, 2002 @ 2:00 AM EDT

• On Thursday, WorldCom disclosed that the company had an additional $3.3 billion in improperly reported earnings. The biggest accounting scandal in the history of corporate America just grew by almost 100 percent. Coverage from around the world, including an exclusive look at WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore's email to employees, follows.

• EXCLUSIVE: Following Thursday's news that WorldCom had additional accounting problems, WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore sent off a late night missive to the company's employees. Obtained exclusive by Dotcom Scoop, here is the email:
  -----Original Message-----
  From: John Sidgmore
  Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 12:44 AM
  Subject: A Message from the CEO
  A Message from the CEO
  Today we disclosed that our internal financial review uncovered an additional $3.3 billion in improperly reported earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from 1999, 2000, 2001 and the first quarter of 2002. In light of this announcement, we will restate our 2000 financial statements in addition to our previous intention to restate 2001 and first quarter 2002.
  This discovery is very disappointing to me -- as I’m sure it is to you. And it is quite possible that as our investigation continues we will find other questionable entries. The important thing to remember is that we are committed to getting to the bottom of any irregularities and disclosing them promptly so that everyone can be confident in our numbers as we work to restore the company’s credibility. We will be open and forthright, and we will operate the company at the highest standards of integrity.
  You have my pledge that the senior management team and I are doing everything we can to make WorldCom the kind of company you can be proud of again. With your continued hard work and support we will achieve this goal.
  As I alerted you when we filed for bankruptcy protection, I need your help. Your continued dedication is critical to maintaining customer confidence. This restatement in no way affects our ability to provide great services to customers -- we are simply correcting misstatements from the past. It has no impact on the company’s cash position. Please help us reinforce the message that WorldCom is capable of and dedicated to serving customers with outstanding quality.
  Yesterday we had our first meeting with our Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. We expressed our clear intention to work to continue the quality of our service to customers along with a commitment to working with them for a consensual reorganization plan. This was a very productive meeting and an important first step in the reorganization process.
  This is a very trying time. Many of us have spent years, or even all of our careers dedicated to bringing competition, choice and innovation to the telecommunications market and we are justifiably proud of our accomplishments. The criticism of the company coming from all quarters is painful, but those of us that worked honestly to build our company have nothing to be ashamed of.
  I know that no one of us is immune to the way WorldCom has been dragged through the mud on television, newspapers and even the distinguished halls of Congress. Although the effects can be disheartening, I hope you will join me in not letting the public criticism reflect on your professional integrity and focus. We cannot change the past, but together we can affect the course of WorldCom's future.
  Thank you for your continued support and dedication.
  John Sidgmore
  ----
  WorldCom, Inc. Corporate Employee Communications

• Coverage of the new accounting problems follows:
  "WorldCom Inc. (WCOEQ, news, msgs), already facing civil charges for accounting fraud, said it would expand its planned financial restatement to $7.2 billion as a result of additional accounting irregularities, Friday's Wall Street Journal reported. The telecommunications giant, which previously planned to restate $3.85 billion for last year and part of this year, disclosed that an internal review of its accounting produced additional improperly booked items. The Clinton, Miss., company, which had warned its revision would grow, says it will have to revise its financials for the year 2000, in addition to the planned restatements for 2001 and the first quarter of 2002.
  The new charges effectively would wipe out WorldCom's profits for all of 2000, just as the prior ones erased earnings for 2001. The new information also raises questions about whether the bulk of the company's profits during the end of the telecom boom were generated through accounting gimmicks."
  WorldCom's press release on the matter - - Dow Jones Newswire - - Reuters - - Agence France-Presse - - Washington Post - - Baltimore Sun - - The Guardian - - Associated Press - - Newsday - - CNN/Money - - Voice Of America - - USA Today - - Clarion-Ledger

• The lawyer for former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers says his client is not to blame for any of this. "I'm certain of this. When the investigation is done, there will not be a shred of credible evidence that Bernie Ebbers had a thing to do with those (accounting) decisions," Ebbers' lawyer told CNBC. Cough, bullshit.
  Thursday August 8, 2002 @ 4:53 PM EDT

• $2.5 billion more in fraud keeps the weblog going, see earlier coverage also... CBS MarketWatch report - - Dow Jones Newswires report

• I smell a rat. Former WorldCom Controller David Myers was spotted meeting with the head of the U.S. Attorney's white-collar crime unit this morning, according to Bloomberg (nice scoop). Weeks ago I reported that the Feds were trying to get Myers to rollover on Ebbers and Sullivan. Includes the infamous "little monkey" quote!

• A quick note about my article from this morning: the BellSouth region refers to a geographic area and has nothing to do with the company BellSouth. The region usually refers to the dominant local telco.
  Thursday August 8, 2002 @ 3:15 PM EDT

• Here we go again... CNBC is reporting that WorldCom has another $2 billion in accounting errors. "CNBC said WorldCom had used an accounting trick in which most of the $2 billion was reversed from reserves for bad debts into operating income. It said the additional fraud was found by WorldCom's auditors poring over its financial statements in 1999," Reuters reports.

• MSNBC also has a report. "The fraud in 2000 is said by people familiar with the matter to differ from the techniques used in 2001 and 2002. In this case, CFO Scott Sullivan is believed to have used a variety of methods to bolster operating income, the chief one in this case being the reversal of reserves for bad debts into operating income," MSNBC reports. CNBC's David Faber broke this story, and the original June 25 bad accounting story. One wonders what CNBC would be like if they did this type of reporting all the time. Maybe, gasp, they'd be trustworthy!?

• CNN/Money also has the story, citing a Wall St. Journal report as saying the new woes add up to an additional $2.5 billion in improper accounting.

• Interesting to note that no one's taken a serious look at WorldCom's money-hemmoraghing wireless unit, which I reported last month was fraudulenty using capital expenditures to cover operating costs.
  Thursday August 8, 2002 @ 1:33 AM EDT

• Surprise, surprise. More crooks at WorldCom. Executives in the South were riping off customers and the company itself by inflating revenues for the purpose of garnering commissions and then crediting customers back when the commission department wasn't looking. Note to John Sidgmore; if you're serious about cleaning up WorldCom, you better start by investigating every single executive in the company and start taking the whistleblowers seriously. (Ed. note: I wrote this story)

• Sidgmore spent yesterday being examined by the creditor's committee. No word on whether he was asked to turn his head and cough.

• ChinaDaily.com has compiled a comprehensive examination of the history of WorldCom. It's one of the better narrative-driven accounts I've read. Great job. Note: DOH! A reader pointed out that ChinaDaily.com simply reprinted a New York Times story without giving writer Kurt Eichenwald or the paper credit. My apologies. Nice job Kurt.

• WorldCom examiner Richard Thornburgh says he'll go where the evidence leads him. Dude, do I need to create some crop circles outside of Jackson, MS for you?

• President Bush was in Mississippi yesterday looking for votes and telling people that WorldCom won't be repeated. Meanwhile, Vice-President Dick Cheney was heckled in San Francisco and still won't answer questions related to his former company Halliburton. The latest White House tactic is to blame Clinton for the crappy economy. Yeah, I don't see any rich white dudes suffering, just a few them in handcuffs.

Wednesday August 7, 2002 @ 12:10 PM EDT

• ExWorldCom 5100 has launched. "The exWorldCom5100 group is composed former WorldCom employees with a common goal of seeking full payment of severance pay and benefits based on the WorldCom Severance Plan. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy on July 21, 2002 and has not paid the former employees their severance or communicated any information about the timing of the payment, or the status of the health care benefits," the website states. The ExWorldCom 5100 group is for the 5,100 WorldCom employees terminated on June 28, 2002.

• Responding to a USA Today article which hinted said that creditors want to ouse WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore, the company issued a tearse statement to Dow Jones Newswires. "Our management team is not focused on unfounded speculation and is instead focused on reorganizing the company," a spokesperson said.

• Want to cover WorldCom for The Associated Press? "The Associated Press in Jackson, Mississippi is looking for an aggressive reporter versatile enough to cover a business beat as well as write general news. While covering WorldCom and the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history is the big story, other responsibilities include high tech Gulf Coast military shipbuilding, energy and nuclear issues, manufacturing, casinos, as well as agriculture. We are a small but feisty bureau in a story-rich state, so ideal candidate will have a commitment to also writing non-business news when time allows," a job posting on JounralismJobs.com states. Thanks to Frank for the link, but I am not qualified for this job. It sounds like an interesting post though.
  Wednesday August 7, 2002 @ 11:09 AM EDT

• Two quick notes... The first being that this weblog is updated as news warrants. There are only so many WorldCom related articles each day and while many articles mention WorldCom with regards to corporate scandals, accounting problems, etc., they don't warrant a look if you're looking for good information on the company. Also, many articles cover the same ground, such as yesterday's news about Digex cutting 200 jobs. No use in linking a dozen articles that contain the same information.

• Second, a note to my fellow journalists with a story idea... I've been getting a lot of emails from common shareholders asking for a thorough explanation as to why their stock is worthless. Many articles quote experts and such, and Sidgmore told employees in a July 22 memo the following, "Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that investors will receive any value for their WorldCom Group or MCI Group stock." Nonetheless, common shareholders would definitely benefit from a plain English article telling them exactly why their stock has no value and won't have value in the future.

• WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore has the fun task of meeting with creditors today. "Creditors, particularly bank lenders holding a $2.7 billion unsecured loan, have been pushing for Sidgmore's removal, arguing WorldCom needs leadership not tainted by the company's accounting scandal. Sidgmore is expected to tell creditors that he is best placed for the job. WorldCom board members say he is safe as long as there are no more irregularities," USA Today reports.

• Two WorldCom executives have left the company. John Stupka, senior vice president in charge of the company's wireless division and former chief executive officer of SkyTel, and P. Brooks Warren, a long-time vice president in charge of facilities, have left, according to Robert Schoenberger of The Clarion-Ledger. It's part of the on-going restructuring. Stupka, I had been told weeks ago, was being sent back to SkyTel to prep it for sale. Although he says in the article that the company is valuable (because of its government contracts I presume), not many companies are looking to add a paging unit to their holdings.

• What the hell was he thinking!? Salomon Bros. analyst/crook Jack Grubman donated $100,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee two days before the WorldCom scandal was announced. It was the Committee's largest donation ever. The check was received on the same day Grubman was subpoenaed by the House Financial Services Committee.
  Tuesday August 6, 2002 @ 12:01 PM EDT

• WorldCom denied reports that its European arm was faltering and says that the Euro unit is an important asset. The company says that a Financial Times report claiming sales at WorldCom Europe has fallen fifty percent was inaccurate, even though the FT story was based on an internal WorldCom conference call.

• Digex, a web-hosting firm majority-owned by WorldCom, will cut 200 jobs, or 20 percent of its workforce. The company has attempted to publicly distance itself from WorldCom.

• Attention Silicon Valley corporate criminals, there is now a FBI tipline so people can rat you out. "The FBI, along with the Northern California divisions of the U.S. attorney's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission, hope providing more opportunities to tip investigators will flush out insiders with information about corporate crimes, including insider stock trading, embezzlement and false financial reports," The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• WorldCom owes Indian telecom VSNL $60 million to $90 million. "As a result, the volume of call traffic from the United States to India was much higher than vice-versa. This meant that at the end of each month, WorldCom always owed VSNL for the big difference in call settlement charges, or payments made for terminating a call on another carrier's network," Reuters reports.
  Monday August 5, 2002 @ 3:01 AM EDT

• Not much WorldCom news over the weekend, thankfully.

• There were no secrets at WorldCom. Remember that shareholder lawsuit mentioned during the House Financial Services Committe hearings? Beatrice E. Garcia from the Miami Herald digs deep into the suit and finds that shareholders were contending last year that the company was lying abouts its revenues, keeping items on the books for way too long and overbilling customers. And of course, Ebbers, Sullivan and Myers knew all of this.

• There goes WorldCom's wireless customers. Another story about how WorldCom Wireless customers are getting kicked back to the companies which actually provide them service.

• InfoWorld talks to Ask Jeeves Vice President of I.T. Dayne Sampson to see how he's handling the stress of being a WorldCom customer. "We are in daily contact with our WorldCom team and they have been extremely proactive in helping us and keeping us up-to-date on what's going on. And we've done due diligence ... so any financial issue that WorldCom has, if it starts to impact technology operations, we're in a position to make changes," Sampson says.