Richard Scrushy was the first and only CEO to be tried under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the $2.7 billion fraud that occurred at HealthSouth. On June 28, 2005, the jury in Birmingham, AL found him not guilty. Five consecutive HealthSouth chief financial officers had all pled guilty to fraud and each of them implicated Scrushy, but Scrushy was acquitted on all 36 counts that were brought against him. The jury was quoted as saying, "The lack of evidence is what produced the verdict".
On October 26, 2005, just four months after being acquitted, Scrushy was indicted on new charges of bribery and mail fraud in connection with former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Two former Siegelman aides were charged in the indictment as well.
In short, Siegelman was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999, and Scrushy was accused of arranging $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board.
On June 29, 2006, a Federal jury found both Scrushy and Siegleman guilty on multiple charges, including bribery, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice.
On June 28, 2007, Scrushy was sentenced to 82 months in federal prison, three years probation, $267,000 in restitution and a fine of $150,000. He was also ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.