U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is due to outline federal criminal charges against former WorldCom Inc. CEO Bernie Ebbers at a press conference in New York City today, according to a report on TV channel WNBC.

The station cited Justice Department sources saying that Ebbers would face charges of securities fraud and conspiracy relating to the accounting scandal at the carrier, now known as MCI (Nasdaq: WCOEQ, MCWEQ) (see Reports: It Began With Bernie and MCI Settlement: What's Next?). It is not thought that Ebbers would be arrested today.

These would be the first federal charges against Ebbers, who is due to return to an Oklahoma court soon to face charges made by that state's attorney general (see Ebbers Gets Brief Reprieve).

MCI is still in Chapter 11 proceedings and was due to emerge before the end of February, but the carrier applied for an extension to complete its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)(see MCI Wants a Chapter 11 Extension).

— Ray Le Maistre, International Editor, Boardwatch