Richard M Scrushy

In November 2003, Richard Scrushy, the founder and CEO of HealthSouth Corporation, was indicted on 85 counts of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and making false statements (the indictment was later reduced to 36 counts). Scrushy, who allegedly falsely inflated the value of HealthSouth by some $2.7 billion, was one of the first people to be charged under the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act. After a three week trial, Scrushy was acquitted on all 36 counts of fraud in 2005. Four months later, Scrushy was again indicted, this time in a separate case involving bribery and mail fraud charges related to payments made to former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who had also been indicted. They were both found guilty. In a separate shareholder lawsuit, Scrushy was ordered to repay $47.8 million in bonuses he received from HealthSouth as a result of the alleged fraud.