Monday, February 07, 2005

Honeymoon over, exec refused to sign report

Court testimony Friday showed the fraud at HealthSouth Corp. unraveled when a newly married executive returned from his honeymoon and said he could no longer live a life of deception.

Weston Smith, the company's chief financial officer at the time, said in August 2002 he would quit rather than certify financial statements he knew were false, ex-HealthSouth executive Bill Owens testified at the Richard Scrushy fraud trial.

Smith had good reason not to sign the documents. When he returned from celebrating his marriage, the financial statements requiring his signature were the first bound by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which increased criminal penalties on dishonest executives.

Honeymoon over, exec refused to sign report

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