Former WorldCom chairman Bernard Ebbers was convicted on March 15 of committing a US$11-billion fraud that led to the biggest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. Found guilty of securities fraud, making false filings and conspiracy, Ebbers faces up to 85 years in prison.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, fraud costs U.S. organizations more than US$400 billion each year.

The median loss caused by men, who commit 75 percent of the offenses, is US$185,000; the median loss caused by women is US$48,000. Losses caused by managers are four times bigger than those caused by employees. The median losses caused by executives are 16 times the size of those caused by employees.

An American corporate fraud task force, which pools resources from the Justice Department, the FBI, the SEC and other agencies, has secured more than 500 convictions on about 900 cases filed since its formation three years ago.