Ex-HealthSouth exec proclaims innocence in fraud case

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former HealthSouth Corp. chief Richard M. Scrushy proclaimed his innocence in a $2.5 billion accounting fraud at the medical services company in a television interview, blaming his top financial officers for the deception.
Speaking during a segment on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday, Scrushy said he signed off on fraudulent accounting figures because he trusted the five chief financial officers who had served the company Scrushy helped found in 1984.
"You have to rely, you have to trust people," he told reporter Mike Wallace during the interview.
"I mean, you hire them. You pay them good salaries. You expect them to do the right thing. And I signed off on the information based on what was provided to me. And what I was told."
Scrushy has declined interview requests from The Associated Press and other news organizations.
He is scheduled to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee next week, but is expected to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering questions.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit accusing HealthSouth and Scrushy of inflating earnings by at least $2.5 billion to make it appear the company was meeting Wall Street analysts' expectations.
Scrushy has refused the company's request for his resignation and remains a nonactive board member of HealthSouth, which operates nearly 1,700 facilities for outpatient surgery, diagnostic and imaging and rehabilitation services.