Ethics Speaker To Talk At UA Walton College

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, will host Walter Pavlo, previous MCI senior manager, who served 24 months in federal prison for his role in wire fraud and money laundering in the MCI scandal. The purpose of his presentation is to convey to audiences an understanding of the inner workings and motivations associated with complex white-collar crimes, with an emphasis on ethical decision-making. His talk is sponsored by Students In Free Enterprise (S.I.F.E.), the Walton College Dean’s Student Advisory Board, and the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and Faculty Development. It is open to the students, faculty, staff and the public.

WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, University of Arkansas campus, Buchanan Street (Parking is available in the Arkansas Union Parking Garage off Stadium Drive

SHORT BIO:  Walter “Walt” Pavlo holds an engineering degree from West Virginia University and an MBA from Stetson School of Business at Mercer University. He has worked for Goodyear Tire in its Aerospace division as a financial analyst, GEC Ltd. of England as a contract manager and as a senior manager in MCI Telecommunication’s Division where he was responsible for billing and collections in its reseller division. As senior manager at MCI, and with a meritorious employment history, Pavlo was responsible for the billing and collection of nearly $1 billion in monthly revenue for MCI’s carrier finance division. Beginning in March of 1996, Pavlo, one member of his staff and a business associate outside MCI began to perpetrate a fraud involving a few of MCI’s own customers. When the scheme was completed, there had been seven customers of MCI defrauded over a six-month period resulting in $6 million in payments to the Cayman Islands. In January 2001, in cooperation with the federal government, Palvo pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and entered Federal prison shortly thereafter. His story highlights the corrupt dealings involving the manipulation of financial records within a large corporation. His case appeared as a cover story in the June 10, 2002, issue of Forbes Magazine, just weeks before WorldCom divulged that it had over $7 billion in accounting irregularities.

INTERVIEWS: During the reception held after the event.

PHOTOGRAPHS: During and after the event