UBS Data Sought in Inquiry of HealthSouth

Lawmakers looking into an accounting scandal at clinic and surgical center operator HealthSouth Corp. asked a former U.S. executive at Swiss bank UBS to turn over documents related to the company.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-La.) and ranking Democrat John D. Dingell of Michigan said they had sent a letter to Howard Capek, who directed research on HealthSouth for many years at unit UBS Warburg. The letter sought “additional clarification” on his “recollections” about HealthSouth.

The federal government has accused HealthSouth and several former officers of deliberately inflating earnings by $2.5 billion.

Capek left UBS last week after an internal investigation of the bank’s relationship with the Birmingham, Ala.-based chain found he had violated a policy of not commenting on companies with which it has an enhanced investment banking relationship.