Cases of Scrushy’s Aides Still Pending

Federal prosecutors aren’t done with HealthSouth Corp., despite the acquittal of ousted Chief Executive Richard Scrushy in a $2.7-billion earnings overstatement.

Two former executives who pleaded guilty in the accounting scheme are set for sentencing this summer, and two more are awaiting trial in Birmingham, where jurors last week found Scrushy not guilty.

HealthSouth is still feeding information to prosecutors as it sorts out the aftermath of the financial debacle, and U.S. Atty. Alice Martin said her office was still investigating the long-running fraud at the rehabilitation and medical services chain.

A recent earnings restatement filed by HealthSouth with the Securities and Exchange Commission includes information about payments and perks offered to some healthcare providers that could have violated Medicare rules, Martin said in an interview with Associated Press.

“Now I’ll turn my attention to some other things that have been on the back burner during the trial,” Martin said, declining to elaborate.

Fifteen people struck plea deals and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors trying to unravel the crime. The executives-turned-felons included longtime Scrushy associate Aaron Beam, who helped Scrushy start HealthSouth in a one-room office in 1984.

Beam, the company’s first chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and was the first of five CFOs to take the stand and tie Scrushy to the fraud.

Now, Beam is scheduled to be sentenced July 25. Defense lawyer Donald Briskman said Beam fulfilled his part of the plea deal, and he expects prosecutors to honor their end by recommending a light sentence.

“Despite what the result may have been, Mr. Beam testified accurately, completely and fully,” Briskman said.

Beam and Will Hicks, a onetime HealthSouth vice president who also testified against Scrushy and also is set for sentencing July 25, could receive probation based on the punishment handed down to 10 other HealthSouth executives sentenced so far. Only one was sent to prison, and that term was for five months.

Meanwhile, Jim Bennett, former HealthSouth president and director, and Hannibal “Sonny” Crumpler, a division controller, are awaiting trial. Bennett’s attorneys have asked for a date as early as November, and Crumpler’s case is set to begin Sept. 12.

HealthSouth repeatedly has said it is cooperating with authorities, but Martin said no decision had been made on whether to charge the corporation itself with a crime.