Scrushy verdict: Not guilty

Healthsouth CEO Richard Scrushy has just been found not guilty on 36 counts of orchestrating one of the largest frauds in the history of American healthcare. For nearly a decade HealthSouth misstated earnings and revenues by up to $3.9 billion. Shareholders saw their stock value obliterated when the fraud was discovered in 2003, and Scrushy was one of the first CEOs tried under the new Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

In deeply related news, HealthSouth filed restated earnings statements with the SEC on Monday that reduced its earnings and profits for the years between 2000 and 2002 by more than $1 billion. The company said profit was overstated by $1.23 billion and revenue by $1.87 billion in that time period. The Wall Street Journal calls the move "a crucial step in distancing itself from the scandal that pushed the healthcare-services provider to the brink of bankruptcy after the fraud was exposed in 2003."

- see this news from the AP on the Scrushy veridct
- see this story on HealthSouth's latest restatement (sub. req.)

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