Ex-HealthSouth CFO receives fine

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- A federal judge on Saturday sentenced a former HealthSouth Corp. chief financial officer to six months of house arrest and ordered him to pay more than $2.4 million for his part in the clinic chain's multibillion-dollar accounting scandal.

Michael Martin, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, and falsifying financial information. He was ordered to forfeit $2.375 million and fined $50,000.

His voice cracking, Martin apologized to his family, friends, HealthSouth employees and shareholders, saying he knew what he did was wrong.

"I'm prepared to accept my punishment," he told U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon.

Martin, of Birmingham, is one of more than a dozen HealthSouth executives to plead guilty and cooperate with the government, which says the company overstated earnings to meet Wall Street expectations.

Richard Scrushy, HealthSouth's founder and fired chief executive, is awaiting trial on charges he made millions off a complex scheme to inflate HealthSouth earnings for years. The company has said profits were overstated by as much as $4.6 billion.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Rasmussen had pushed for a sentence for Martin of five years in prison as a "deterrent to white-collar crime." But he also described Martin as needed by the government in reconstructing HealthSouth's financial records.

HealthSouth has almost 1,700 facilities in the United States and abroad and employs more than 51,000 people.