17th HealthSouth Executive Indicted

A former controller at HealthSouth has become the 17th executive of the health services concern to be indicted in a massive accounting scandal, which the company has been charged of overstating earnings by nearly $3 billion. Hannibal Sonny Crumpler, who served for eight years as controller of HealthSouth's operating division, has been charged by prosecutors of wire, mail, and securities fraud for allegedly working with others to falsify the company's financial records. In 2002, Crumpler served as chief financial officer at Source Medical Solutions, a unit of HealthSouth, and during that time was alleged to have signed an audit that overstated by millions, the amount owed to HealthSouth. If convicted, Crumpler could face a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of $1.3 million. Next week, the jury selection process will begin in the trial of former HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy.