WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- An ex-HealthSouth Corp. chief executive was indicted in Alabama Thursday in the $2.64 billion accounting fraud scandal at the company.
James Bennett of Birmingham, Ala., was named on a 39-count indictment charging conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and money laundering.
The indictment said Bennett was employed at HealthSouth from 1991 until 2000 in various capacities, including president and chief operating officer from 1995 until 2000. In 1993, he also became a member of HealthSouth's Board of Directors.
Count one of the indictment charges Bennett with conspiracy to commit wire, mail and securities fraud. From about 1996 to February 2003, Bennett and other co-conspirators who were officers and employees of HealthSouth fraudulently inflated reports and statements of HealthSouth's operating results and financial condition, and disseminated the false reports and statements to the public, the indictment said.
The entries made to HealthSouth's books added approximately $2.64 billion in fictitious income to the books and records between 1996 and 2002, the indictment said.
