Business
HealthSouth leader steps down
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 9, 2005
Joel C. Gordon, who stepped in as HealthSouth's chair in the wake of a massive accounting scandal at the outpatient services giant, has voluntarily resigned from the board, saying it is time for him to retire.
Praised by his colleagues for providing strong leadership during some of the company's darkest days, Gordon was to step down effective May 10.
HealthSouth has been accused of inflating earnings by $2.6 billion in a scheme to meet Wall Street expectations. At least 18 former executives have faced criminal charges in the investigation, and ousted founder Richard M. Scrushy is on trial for allegedly masterminding the plot.
In recent weeks, a handful of charges against Scrushy have been dropped as prosecution and defense attorneys haggled over details of the case. However, the former CEO still faces nearly 50 counts of charges ranging from fraud to conspiracy.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/05/09/bibf0509.htm.