SEC: Continue freeze on assets of former exec

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Anticipating a federal judge's ruling this week on former HealthSouth chief Richard Scrushy's assets, the Securities and Exchange Commission is already pushing for a court order keeping the assets out of Scrushy's hands during an appeal.
Scrushy's attorneys are expected to appeal any decision by U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson that goes against their client, hoping to release his assets partly to pay for his defense.
Johnson has held an 11-day hearing on the assets, which were frozen shortly after the SEC filed a lawsuit March 19, accusing Scrushy of being the ring leader in a scheme to inflate HealthSouth's earnings by $2.5 billion. Johnson has allowed about $15 million of Scrushy's taxes and some legal and business expenses to be paid.
The SEC, in a court filing Thursday, reported in The Birmingham News on Sunday, said it presented sufficient evidence in that hearing to show that "Scrushy orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in American history, causing investors billions of dollars in losses."
The agency, however, asks Johnson, should she lift the freeze, to continue it pending the outcome of an appeal to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.