HealthSouth Executive Sentenced to Eight Years
The only HealthSouth Corp. executive convicted by jurors in a $2.7-billion fraud was sentenced to eight years in federal prison Thursday, the longest term imposed in the huge accounting scam at the rehabilitation chain.
Hannibal “Sonny” Crumpler, a former vice president and division controller, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins after the defense urged her to order probation or a combination of house arrest and parole.
Crumpler’s attorneys said they may appeal because of the harshness of the penalty, and prosecutors said they would challenge it as being too lenient.
The stiffest sentence in the HealthSouth fraud had been the five-year prison term for former finance chief Bill Owens, who pleaded guilty to a leading role in the scheme and spent days testifying against fired Chief Executive Richard Scrushy, who was acquitted on all charges a year ago after a six-month trial.
Owens was among 15 former executives who pleaded guilty and cooperated extensively with prosecutors.
Crumpler talked to prosecutors but lied to agents about his own role in the HealthSouth scheme, said Assistant U.S. Atty. George Martin.
Defendants who told the truth about their crimes and pleaded guilty rightfully received easier treatment from the government, he said.
In court, Hopkins read off the punishment for 42 executives convicted in frauds at companies including Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and Birmingham-based HealthSouth. Hopkins said it was important to compare cases nationally to avoid sentencing disparities.
Although Crumpler’s term was tougher than that of the 15 HealthSouth executives who pleaded guilty, it was milder than the punishment handed down in many of the other widely watched cases, including the 25-year sentence of former WorldCom chief Bernard J. Ebbers.
Prosecutors sought a far tougher penalty, asking the judge to send Crumpler to prison for 15 years on his conviction for conspiracy and making false statements to auditors.
