2 More HealthSouth Ex-CFOs Plead Guilty

Two former HealthSouth Corp. chief financial officers pleaded guilty to criminal charges for their part in a massive accounting scandal, and one said he committed the offenses at the direction of fired Chief Executive Richard Scrushy.

Michael Martin, 42, and Malcolm McVay, 41, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, and to filing false books and records in what the government says was a scheme by a group of HealthSouth officers to deliberately overstate earnings by $2.5 billion over several years.

Eleven former executives from the operator of rehabilitation hospitals -- including all five of the company’s CFOs -- have admitted guilt in the scandal, which has left Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth in default on its loans and fighting to avoid bankruptcy protection.