Worldcom White Collar Crime

Worldcom was the second largest long distance phone company in the United States. The former CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to twenty five years in prison due to increasing revenue the wrong way to increase earnings. This company had the largest bankruptcy filing in the United States. Today, the Worldcom accounting scandal is known as one of the worst corporate white collar crimes in history. What were some psychological factors that led to this crime? Financial Pressures from competitors and absolute greed are usually the main causes of white collar crime. Bernard Ebbers cooked the books to make his company seem like they are earning more than what they actually have. Bernard Ebbers did not come from a rich family.
Having the opportunity to become a CEO of one of the top long distance phone companies may have contributed to his idea of wanting more money. Sometimes when people are given an opportunity they have never had before, they usually take advantage or they want more. In order to conceal the fraud, Ebbers borrowed loans from Worldcom for
The Big five personality traits which was created by the Psychologist Goldberg includes agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, Extroversion and Intellect. In “ Economic Crime: Does Personality Matter” Alaletho used the Big Five model to link the personality traits of individuals who were involved in tax evasion. The individuals were interviewed and asked questions about their co- workers. This was used to detect some of the personality traits that white collar criminals have. Alaletho found that certain personality traits from the Big Five model increased the chances of a person involved in white collar crime. Based upon his study, he found that individuals who scored high on neuroticism, extroversion, and disagreeableness were more likely to engage in white collar