Perjury and obstruction of justice charges were added Wednesday to the criminal case against fired HealthSouth Corp. chief executive Richard Scrushy under a new indictment in the rehabilitation giant's accounting scandal.
The new charges, part of a superseding indictment, were announced by the Justice Department as it consolidated conspiracy and fraud charges while trimming the counts from 85 to 58.
Scrushy, 52, was scheduled for a midafternoon arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam.
Scrushy has previously pleaded innocent to charges in the 85-count indictment accusing him of conspiracy, securities fraud and money laundering, among other crimes. Free on $10 million bond, he contends a $2.6 billion accounting fraud at HealthSouth was committed by others without his knowledge.
A federal judge has scheduled jury selection in his trial to begin Jan. 5.