Judge Orders Ex-HealthSouth Exec. to Pony Up $2.87B
A state court judge in Alabama ruled today that former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard Scrushy was responsible for the company’s fraud and ordered him to pay the company $2.87 billion to set things right.
The Birmingham News notes that this is the first time Scrushy, 56, has been found responsible for the $2.6 billion in faked profits and assets that nearly doomed the company.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Allwin Horn made his ruling after presiding over a bench trial in a suit brought by HealthSouth shareholders. The shareholders alleged Scrushy falsified profits to boost stock prices and increase his own bonuses.
The newspaper reports that the next step, in addition to a likely appeal by Scrushy to the state supreme court, is for lawyers to attempt to determine Scrushy’s wealth.
During the time of a failed criminal prosecution against Scrushy in 2004, his net worth was at least $287 million.
Scrushy is in federal prison in Texas, having served two years of a seven-year sentence. He was convicted of bribing former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.
Also see:
Associated Press: “Court rules against ex-CEO Scrushy in settlement”
