NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Top executives at Qwest Communications International Inc. made about $500 million selling shares of their stock while revenue numbers were improperly inflated, according to a published report.

The New York Times, quoting research firm Thomson Financial, said former CEO Joseph Nacchio made $227 million from 1999 to 2001, the period during which the company now admits that $1.16 billion in revenue was improperly recorded. Nacchio was forced out as CEO of the troubled telecom earlier this year.

Robert Woodruff, the chief financial officer until 2001, made $29 million, according to the Times report, while Qwest's current General Counsel Drake Tempest made $13 million.

In addition, the company's largest shareholder, Philip Anschutz, made almost $1.5 billion selling shares in May 1999. Anschutz is a member of the company's board and served as chairman until Richard Notebaert was hired as both CEO and chairman in June.

The Times quotes the company as saying the executives received Qwest shares and stock options as part of their compensation packages and that many sold shares to diversify their portfolios.

All have seen their remaining shares in the company lose almost 90 percent of their value since the beginning of the year as shares plunged amid revelations of probes by the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress. Qwest President Afshin Mohebbi is one of three top telecom executives due to testify before a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Qwest shareholders seemed to shrug off the financial reporting problems revealed late Sunday. After Qwest (Q: Research, Estimates) shares opened down nearly 20 percent Monday, they closed off only 1 cent at $1.49. But the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday's that the company's latest revelations may prompt a new investigation by the SEC, quoting unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The Journal said the company's announcement that it would have to restate results is seen by the SEC as "a confession of error," according to a person familiar with the situation.

It also quoted Seth Taube, a former SEC enforcement chief, as saying SEC investigators, "are going to be all over Qwest about this."