FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1.   Q:   I just received a Notice of Deficiency in the mail? What does this mean?     A:   A claim may be deemed “deficient” for any one or more of a number of reasons, including the failure to supply the necessary documentation in support of purchases, sales and balances, as required by the Claim Form; the failure to provide adequate support for account owner name(s) and account number(s); the failure to provide your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number; the failure to provide a copy of a death certificate (if applicable); and the failure to sign the Claim Form. 2.   Q:   What should I do if I receive a Notice of Deficiency?     A:   You should respond to the Notice of Deficiency as quickly as possible, together with any required additional documentation and the Notice of Deficiency. 3.   Q:   How long do I have after receipt of a Notice of Deficiency to supply the missing information?     A:   You have 30 days from the date we mailed your Notice of Deficiency to submit the requested information to the claims administrator, The Garden City Group.. 4.   Q:   Is there a number to call if I have questions about my Notice of Deficiency?     A:   You may call the Claims Administrator, The Garden City Group, at the following toll free number: 866-808-3556. If you are calling from outside the toll free area, the telephone number for the Garden City Group is 631-470-5000. 5.   Q:   How should I correspond with the claims administrator?     A:   It is prudent to correspond with the claims administrator, The Garden City Group, via certified mail, or by some other method with proof of delivery. Always include your Claim Number on any correspondence. 6.   Q:   When will I receive any recovery from the Class Action litigation?     A:   The Claims Administrator is in the process of evaluating claims that were submitted pursuant to the Court’s orders. We are hopeful that the evaluation process will be completed during the summer or fall of this year, and that an initial distribution will be made later in the year. Of course, if that changes, we will post any updated information on this website. 7.   Q:   How much will I recover from the Class Action litigation?     A:   Until the claims process is complete, we will not be in a position to definitively estimate the average distribution to Authorized Claimants. The amount of your recovery for each transaction in Eligible Securities will depend, among other things, on (1) which Eligible Securities you purchased and/or sold; (2) the price you paid and/or received for Eligible Securities; (3) the date(s) on which you purchased and/or sold Eligible Securities, and (4) the Loss Amounts for all other Authorized Claimants. 8.   Q:   Is it too late to file a Proof of Claim?     A:   The deadline for submission of the Proof of Claim was August 26, 2005. If you did not submit a Proof of Claim by the deadline, and you still wish to participate, you should send in your Proof of Claim as soon as possible, together with a statement explaining why the Claim Form is being filed after the deadline. At some point, Lead Plaintiff may request that the Court accept late-filed claims; however, there is no guarantee that the Court will do so.. 9.   Q:   Where may I obtain a Proof of Claim?     A:   You may download a Proof of Claim by going to our website, at worldcomlitigation.com, and by clicking on the Class Notices tab at the top of the page. You may also call the Claims Administrator, The Garden City Group, at the following toll free number: 866-808-3556. 10.   Q:   How do I know if I am a part of the WorldCom Securities Litigation?     A:   If you are an individual or entity who purchased or acquired publicly traded securities of WorldCom, Inc. during the period from April 29, 1999 through and including June 25, 2002 and were injured thereby, you are eligible to become part of the class of investors for whom we are trying to seek a recovery. The Class was certified in the Opinion and Order of October 24, 2003. See Order. The Court-approved Notice of Class Action was entered on December 11, 2003. See Class Notice. 11.   Q:   What is a class action?     A:   A class action is a type of lawsuit that allows a representative or named plaintiff to sue a defendant or defendants on behalf of other people (the "Class") who have suffered the same type of harm. A class action is filed when the issues in a case apply to so many people that it is not practical for all of them to file their own individual actions. In the WorldCom Securities Litigation, the Class was certified on October 24, 2003, consisting of all individuals or entities that purchased or acquired stocks and/or publicly traded bonds or notes of WorldCom during the period beginning on April 29, 1999 through and including June 25, 2002. 12.   Q:   What are the benefits of a securities class action?     A:   A securities class action provides the thousands of persons and institutions that purchased securities of a company the ability to litigate on a level playing field with large, well-funded corporations that have huge resources to spend on defending claims brought by investors seeking to hold them accountable for alleged securities law violations. A class action allows many people who would never have brought an individual action to rely on a lead plaintiff to prosecute the case for them. 13   Q:   What is a class period?     A:   a class period is a specific period of time that starts on the day that a company first makes an allegedly untrue statement of a material fact (or omits to state a material fact that the company has a duty to disclose). The class period ends on the day that the last of the untrue statement(s) or omission(s) is revealed as such to the public. In the WorldCom Securities Litigation, the Class Period begins on April 29, 1999 and ends on June 25, 2002. 14.   Q:   What is class certification?     A:   In a securities litigation such as this one, class certification is the stage of the lawsuit in which the lead plaintiff asks the Court to determine that the case meets the legal requirements of a class action -- that there are numerous claimants with common factual and legal issues and that the lead plaintiff (and any named plaintiffs who may serve as Class representatives) will adequately represent the Class with qualified and experienced counsel. The Court must also approve the definition of the Class (and any sub-classes, such as bond purchasers, stock purchasers, etc.). On October 24, 2003 Judge Cote certified the class proposed by Lead Plaintiff, consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded securities of WorldCom, Inc. during the period beginning April 29, 1999 through and including June 25, 2002, and who were injured thereby, including all persons or entities who acquired shares of WorldCom common stock in the secondary market or in exchange for shares of acquired companies pursuant to a registration statement, and all persons or entities who acquired publicly traded debt securities of WorldCom in the secondary market and pursuant to a registration statement. To view Judge Cote's Order for Class Certification, click here. click here. 15.   Q:   What is a lead plaintiff?     A:   A lead plaintiff is a person or entity that is appointed by the Court to represent the interests of all class members. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, a federal district court will appoint a lead plaintiff or plaintiffs from among those members of the Class who (i) request to be a lead plaintiff within 60 days of the publication of a notice of the pendency of a class action; and (ii) are most capable of adequately representing the interests of the Class. The lead plaintiff selects and oversees the court-appointed "lead counsel" in determining how the litigation should proceed and eventually be resolved or taken to trial. 16.   Q:   Who is the New York State Common Retirement Fund ("NYSCRF")?     A:   The New York State Common Retirement Fund ("NYSCRF") is the nation's second largest public pension fund, with approximately 950,000 active members, retirees, and approximately $100 billion in assets. Alan Hevesi, the Comptroller of the State of New York, is the sole trustee of the NYSCRF. During the Class Period, the NYSCRF purchased 15,315,138 shares of WorldCom stock, 267,499 shares of WorldCom MCI tracking stock, and $1 million worth of WorldCom bonds and lost more than $300 million as a result. On August 15, 2002, Judge Cote appointed the NYSCRF as Lead Plaintiff and approved the NYSCRF's selection of Barrack, Rodos & Bacine and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP as Co-Lead Counsel in the WorldCom Securities Litigation. The NYSCRF, as Lead Plaintiff, filed the Consolidated Class Action Complaint in the WorldCom Securities Litigation on October 11, 2002, and has taken numerous other actions in support of the claims asserted on behalf of the Class of WorldCom investors in the Complaint. On March 20, 2003, the NYSCRF was appointed as Lead Plaintiff in the Salomon Analyst WorldCom Litigation. 17.   Q:   Who is the Fresno County Employees Retirement Association ("FCERA")?     A:   FCERA is one of the additional "named plaintiffs" identified in the Class Action Complaint. During the Class Period, FCERA purchased 136,900 shares of WorldCom stock and $8,198,295.50 worth of WorldCom debt securities, including over $3,000,000 of bonds issued by WorldCom pursuant to the May 2001 Offering. FCERA is a fund formed under the State of California's County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 that invests for the exclusive purpose of providing retirement compensation, death benefits and disability benefits to participants in the pension or retirement system for Fresno County employees and their beneficiaries. As of June 30, 2002, FCERA had approximately 10,200 active members, retirees, and other beneficiaries and over $1.5 billion in assets. FCERA is represented in the WorldCom Securities Litigation by the law firm of Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo, LLP. 18.   Q:   Who is the County of Fresno, California ("Fresno")?     A:   Fresno County is one of the additional "named plaintiffs" identified in the Class Action Complaint. During the Class Period, Fresno purchased $6,352,697.37 worth of bonds issued by WorldCom in the May 2000 Offering. Fresno is a political subdivision of the state of California that invests general funds of the County of Fresno under California law for the benefit of its citizens. Fresno is represented in the WorldCom Securities Litigation by the law firm of Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo, LLP. 19.   Q:   Who is HGK Asset Management, Inc.?     A:   HGK Asset Management, Inc. ("HGK") is one of the additional "named plaintiffs" identified in the Class Action Complaint. During the Class Period, HGK purchased, on behalf of its clients, $129,486,989 worth of WorldCom debt securities, including approximately $43,000,000 of bonds issued by WorldCom in the May 2000 Offering and over $29,000,000 worth of bonds issued by WorldCom in the May 2001 Offering. HGK is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. § 80b-1 et seq. and acts as a fiduciary to its union-sponsored pension and benefit plan clients under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. As of October 10, 2002, HGK had more than 80 client relationships, in addition to representing thousands of individual retirees, and managed over $2 billion in assets. HGK is represented in the WorldCom Securities Litigation by the law firm of Schoengold & Sporn, P.C. 20.   Q:   May I participate in the WorldCom lawsuit if I purchased additional securities before or after the class period?     A:   The Class Action asserts claims on behalf of purchasers of publicly traded securities of WorldCom, including its stock and publicly traded debt securities, during the Class Period. If you purchased such WorldCom securities during the Class Period, you may participate in the Class, but at this point in the litigation, any claims you may have for purchases of WorldCom securities either before or after the Class Period would not be compensable based on the present claims in the case. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the Court determined in the November 21 Order ruling on motions to dismiss filed in one of the Individual WorldCom Actions (see Orders) that the plaintiff was time barred from bringing a Securities Act claim for purchases of bonds issued in August 1998 (which the Court ruled could be brought no later than August 2001, which was well before the revelation of WorldCom's accounting overstatements), and that the plaintiff's Securities Act claim to recover for losses stemming from purchases of bonds issued in the December 2000 private placement were dismissed because that was a private placement rather than a public offering. 21.   Q:   I purchased my securities through my 401(k) or IRA account. Can I still participate?     A:   Yes, as long as you purchased the stocks, bonds or notes during the Class Period. 22.   Q:   I live outside the United States. Can I still participate?     A:   Yes, as long as you purchased publicly traded securities of WorldCom, including WorldCom stock and/or publicly traded bonds or notes during the Class Period, and were injured thereby, and are not otherwise excluded from the Class. See Class Notice. 23.   Q:   Do I have a claim if I sold my stock or bonds before or during the filing of a securities class action?     A:   A valid claim in a securities class action depends on when the stock, bond or note was purchased. If you purchased your security during the Class Period and suffered a loss as a result of the alleged fraud (i.e., you sold your stock or bond after a negative disclosure about WorldCom), you may have a claim even if you sold your stock or bond before the start of the securities class action. 24.   Q:   Do I have to hold my stock or bonds once a securities class action is filed?     A:   Once a securities class action is filed, you do not need to hold the stock or bonds in order to participate in a class action or in a class action settlement. However, if you sold your stock or bonds within the first 90 days following the end of the Class Period, your damages will be capped at the difference between the price at which you purchased the security and the price at which you sold it. 25.   Q:   If I continue to hold stock or bonds in a company after a significant negative disclosure, will I be precluded from participating in a settlement?     A:   No, you can still participate in a settlement. In the event that you continue to hold the stock or bonds, your damages will be limited to the difference between the price paid for the security and the mean trading price of that security during the 90-day period following the end of the Class Period.