Fraud victims stand to gain Victims of MCI’s fraud could receive 50 percent more compensation if a modification settlement terms proposed Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is approved by the courts.The SEC modified its proposal for a settlement of its claim for a civil penalty in its civil action against the company, which is still legally known as WorldCom, asking that the company contribute stock worth $250 million, in addition to the $500 million in cash already required, to compensate victims of its fraud, the SEC said in a statement.In a May 19 filing with the U.S. Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York, the SEC proposed that MCI could meet its obligations by making a payment of $500 million when it emerged from bankruptcy — although the actual settlement called for a payment of $1.51 billion. The amendment to this proposal filed with the court Wednesday responds to issues raised by the district court judge, and has been agreed with MCI and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of WorldCom, the SEC said. It must still be approved by the district court.In the event that a reorganization plan for the company is agreed by the bankruptcy court, the revised proposal calls for payment of $500 million in cash and the transfer of common stock in the reorganized company worth $250 million into a fund for victims of the fraud, as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.MCI, based in Ashburn, Virginia, was guardedly positive about the modified proposal. “We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in reaching this decision, which remains subject to court approval,” Chief Financial Officer Bob Blakely said in a prepared statement. “We believe that it is another significant step toward MCI’s emergence from Chapter 11.”The SEC began its action against MCI last year, filing fraud charges in June, the day after the company said it would restate earnings for five consecutive quarters ending with first quarter of 2002, due to accounting irregulatiries. MCI later admitted, by stages, to further accounting irregularities totaling over $9 billion. Technology Industry