Company Pays Nearly $12 Million As Part Of Settlement

Wednesday, August 8th 2007, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Verizon Business has consented to pay the Oklahoma Department of Commerce more than $11.7 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement regarding its predecessor.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson in August 2003 accused WorldCom of a scheme to artificially inflate its stock and bond values by falsifying information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The state claimed that state investments suffered from this false information.

In March 2004, the company entered into an economic development agreement with the Commerce Department that required it to create 1,600 new Oklahoma jobs during a 10-year period or pay financial penalties.

Edmondson says the company hasn't created any Oklahoma jobs since signing the agreement and already has paid the state $1.68 million.

The company would have paid an additional $13.7 million by 2014 if it had added no new jobs.