Keeping Secrets

Owens has perhaps come under the most fire. Scrushy's defense has tried to portray him as the true "godfather" of the operation. Under cross-examination, Owens admitted to being delinquent in filing his tax returns between 1995 and 2003, and spending more than $3 million in cash to buy real estate.

Today, according to his attorney, Martin is employed by CannonGate Partners, the private-equity and consulting firm he helped start after leaving HealthSouth. According to their attorneys, Owens and McVay are job-hunting, and Smith is a self-employed accountant.

Many believe that no matter what really happened at HealthSouth, the CFOs will remain the bad guys in Birmingham. A lavish donor to local colleges, libraries, and medical centers as well as a regular preacher at area churches, Scrushy is a local hero, with supporters in all corners. He had even aired his own TV talk show each day before court.

As his lawyers subject the CFOs to ridicule, Scrushy is shown cooking grits for his children. That's the sort of spin on family values that perhaps only the Soprano family could really appreciate.

Alix Nyberg Stuart is a contributing editor of CFO.

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The Family
Six years of fundamental reporting were engineered by five CFOs...

Aaron Beam Jr., age 61
Tenure: Co-founder and CFO from 1984097, director from 1993-97.

Notable facts: Has a regulation-size football field on his property. Admitted to adultery during cross-examination.

Michael D. Martin, age 44
Tenure: Joined as treasurer in October 1989, named SVP finance and treasurer in February 1994, EVP finance and treasurer in May 1996. CFO from October 1997-February 2000, then EVP investments. Director from 1998-2000.

Notable facts: Won outstanding alumni award in 2002 from UAB business school. Likened HealthSouth to the firm in John Grisham's novel of the same name.

William T. Owens, age 46
Tenure: Joined as controller in March 1986, promoted to group SVP and controller in March 1998. CFO from February 2000­-August 2001, also January­-March 2003; president and COO August 2001-2002; CEO August 2002­January 2003: director from March 2001-2003.

Notable facts: Never had a passport. Godfather to one of Weston Smith's children.

Weston Smith, age 44
Tenure: Joined in February 1987 as director of reimbursement, promoted to SVP of finance and controller in March 2000. CFO from August 2001­2002, EVP of inpatient operations until 2003.

Notable fact: Speculation that he is trying to protect his wife, Susan Jones-Smith, who was also a finance executive at the company and appeared before Congress, but has not been criminally charged.

Malcolm "Tadd" McVay, age 43
Tenure: Joined in September 1999 as VP of finance, named SVP of finance and treasurer in February 2000. CFO from August 2002-January 2003, treasurer from January-March 2003.

Notable fact: On the witness stand, accused prosecution of making him look like "the scum of the earth."

...and Their Staff

Richard Botts, SVP for taxes, May 1998­-July 2003
"Members of HealthSouth's accounting staff provided Botts with false depreciation schedules, which were tied to and included fictitious assets on the company's general ledger," which Botts then filed with tax officials.

Jason Brown, VP of finance, May 2000­-July 2003
Created documents to show HealthSouth selling $27 million worth of stock in another company in 2002 rather than in 2001. Also altered same-facility volume numbers (for Q3 '02) to understate decline in volume.

Catherine Fowler, treasury, VP, and cash manager, May 1994-March 2003
Charged with creating paper trail to falsify date of stock sale.

Emery Harris, various positions including assistant controller, 1992­-2003
Charged with making and causing others to make false entries "for the purpose of artificially inflating HealthSouth's earnings, and designed the fictitious accounting entries to avoid detection.... through methods such as manipulation of the 'contractual adjustment' or other expense accounts to inflate revenue on the income statement and false... entries on the balance sheet concerning PP&E."

Will Hicks, VP of investments, March 1999-July 2003
"Hicks caused investment-portfolio summaries of assets to be provided to the auditors that contained false information and omitted material facts concerning HealthSouth's investment in a company that owned assisted-living facilities."

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