Corporate America is hoping for a better year in 2003, following a series of scandals that have left employees and investors jittery. Some are worried confidence in the business community has been damaged for good.

Pictures of executives being taken away in handcuffs marked a year that saw the fall of a number of giants, including Enron and WorldCom Inc., where Canadian-born CEO Bernie Ebbers borrowed millions of dollars for personal use.

It even brought down home-decorating diva Martha Stewart, who was accused of insider trading in the sale of ImClone shares. Regulators are still investigating whether she sold shares in biotech company ImClone on information provided by her friend and the firm's founder, Sam Waksal.

Washington reacted by toughening up accounting rules in July. The legislation created an oversight board for the accounting industry, eliminated problematic self-regulation, and increased penalties for fraudulent records.

As well, maximum jail time for executives who commit mail or wire fraud was quadrupled to 20 years. The bill also established a new crime of securities fraud with a maximum sentence of 25 years.

Some market watchers are skeptical they'll make any difference to jittery investors.

Here is a look back on the corporate scandals that rocked Wall St., shook Washington and shocked investors:

Enron Corporation - energy trading company:

The 7th biggest company in the U.S., Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001 after revealing losses of more than $600 million US and eliminating $1.2 billion of shareholder equity. Thousands of former employees and investors lost their retirement savings as stocks plundered to penny-stock status.

In Oct. 2002, former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, 40, was formally indicted on 78 federal charges, which included fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He is the highest-ranking Enron executive to be charged. Fastow amassed personal wealth estimated at over $30 million US, allegedly by getting kickbacks through family members who were investors and income siphoning.

Free on $5 million US bail, Fastow could face hundreds of years in jail and multi-million dollar fines.

Arthur Andersen - accounting firm:

Following the fallout from the Enron scandal, Arthur Andersen began laying off about 7,000 U.S. employees in April. The 89-year-old company was charged with obstruction of justice in March for allegedly shredding evidence of Enron's illegal accounting practices.

With Andersen's reputation in shambles, it began to lose clients as many companies disassociated themselves with the struggling company. Andersen lost more than 650 of its public audit clients and ended up being sold off in pieces.

WorldCom Inc. - telecommunications company:

WorldCom Inc. sailed into the record books after filing the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. In July 2002, the telecommunications giant filed for Chapter 11 protection after revealing it had falsely inflated profits by almost $4 billion US.

Its co-founder, Bernard J. Ebbers, resigned as CEO in late April amidst mounting investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding $366 million in personal loans from the company.

In August, former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan and former controller David Myers were charged with securities fraud and making false statements to regulators. They were alleged to have deliberately hid expenses to artificially inflate earnings to meet Wall Street expectations.

Under new management, the company has a chance of surviving.

Tyco International Ltd. - manufacturing and service company:

Tyco came under the spotlight after former CEO Dennis Kozlowski faced a slew of charges in June for allegedly using company money to acquire million-dollar paintings by Renoir and Monet. He was charged with conspiracy, tampering with physical evidence, falsifying business records and sales tax violations.

The company was already under scrutiny after executing a number of giant acquisitions in the 1990s, which made Tyco into a 277,000-employee conglomerate.

Adelphia Communications - cable TV company:

Five former executives of Adelphia Communications, one of the largest cable TV companies in the United States, were arrested in July for "looting" the company and using it as their "personal piggy bank." Among those charged are three founding members of the company: John Rigas, 77, and his sons, former chief financial officer Timothy, 46, and former executive vice-president of operations Michael, 48.

The five accused allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the company for personal investments, resulting in losses to investors of more than $60 billion US. Adelphia filed for bankruptcy in June.

Global Crossing - telecommunications company:

The high-speed communications network company filed for bankruptcy in January 2002. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI are investigating the company for alleged inflating revenues and conducting improper accounting practices.

Martha Stewart - home and lifestyle icon

Domestic icon and business woman, Martha Stewart faces criminal investigation after allegedly selling almost 4,000 shares of ImClone on Dec. 27, 2001 -- the day before the company's application for federal review of a key drug, Erbitux, was denied. Stewart maintained she had instructed her Merrill Lynch broker to sell if the share price dipped below $60 US.

Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia took a downward turn after her ImClone trading was revealed in June. In October, Stewart resigned as member of the board of the New York Stock Exchange.

ImClone Systems Inc. - biotechnology company:

Former ImClone CEO Sam Waksal pleaded guilty in October to six counts, including securities fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and perjury. Waksal allegedly tipped off family members and close friends to sell their ImClone stock before the Food and Drug Administration announced it would not review its application for Erbitux, a new cancer drug.

Waksal is also implicated in the case involving his friend Martha Stewart.

By CTV Online's Noelle Paredes and Sandra Dimitrakopoulos, with files from Report on Business's Janis MacKay Frayer