egarding the company's 2000 and 2001 sales figures. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a criminal probe in July 2002. Richard Notebaert replaced Joseph Nacchio as CEO of Qwest a month prior to the investigation, with Oren Schaffer moving into the CFO slot less than a month thereafter. Through these two new officers, Qwest has been proactive in repairing the gaps in its records and its reputation. In late July 2002, the CEO publicly admitted to the company's previous accounting errors and pledged to correct and restate financial data for the years and operations in question. Visit Vault at www.vault.com for insider company profiles, expert advice, VAULT CAREER career message boards, expert resume reviews, the Vault Job Board and more. LIBRARY Vault Guide to the Top Telecom Employers Qwest Communications International, Inc. The restated results from 2000 and 2001 weren't released until October 2003, and showed that the company actually lost $1.5 billion in 2001 and $945 million in 2000, a far cry from the $19 billion and $19.7 billion in sales it had originally reported. The company also slashed revenue by $2.5 billion. On top of this, the company also cut about 7,000 jobs between 2001 and 2002. Charges filed As a result of this accounting chicanery, four former execs at the company were brought to trial in 2003 for, among other things, conspiring to falsely recognize more than $33 million of revenue for the second quarter of 2001. The government contended that the four defendants wrote misleading letters and memos saying revenue from a deal to wire Arizona schools could be recognized in the second quarter of 2001, even though they knew the project would not be completed by the end of the quarter. (Some of the company's former executives later reached settlements with the SEC in June 2004.) Also in March 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed fining Qwest $9 million for failing to file 46 interconnection agreements with two states as required by law. The FCC said the company d