WorldCom: AT & amp;T accusation unfounded

NEW YORK (AP) -- WorldCom Inc. says new charges of wrongdoing leveled by AT & amp;T are nothing more than a competitive ploy designed to thwart its attempt to emerge from bankruptcy.
AT & amp;T claims it has evidence WorldCom has disguised codes on long-distance calls to route them through Canada, eventually sticking AT & amp;T with high access fees that WorldCom should have paid.
WorldCom responded Monday in a filing in federal bankruptcy court, calling the AT & amp;T charges "sensational accusations wholly unsupported by evidence or law."
AT & amp;T claims some of the shifted calls were placed by the State Department and other government agencies, and it has accused WorldCom of playing "fast-and-loose with our national interests."
Federal prosecutors are investigating accusations by AT & amp;T, other rival carriers and former WorldCom executives that the company defrauded telephone companies of hundreds of millions of dollars.
While not explicitly denying that it routed calls through Canada, WorldCom said in its response that the practice was perfectly legal.