UBS AG will pay $217 million to settle an accounting fraud lawsuit filed by HealthSouth Corp. bondholders and shareholders. Under the settlements, bondholders will receive $100 million and shareholders will get $117 million. UBS is HealthSouth’s investment bank. Meantime, Ernst & Young LLP, the. health-care services provider’s accounting firm, had settled with shareholders for $109 million and will now settle with bondholders for $33.5 million.
The settlements are a result of litigation filed over a $2.7 billion fraud at HealthSouth. The accounting scheme occurred between 1996 and 2002. After the fraud was discovered in March 2003, nearly $6 billion in market value was lost when the company’s share price dropped. 15 executives pleaded guilty over their involvement in the scam.
By agreeing to settle, UBS & Earnst & Young are not admitting to or denying wrongdoing. UBS maintains that HealthSouth lied to UBS bankers numerous times. In 2008, UBS consented to pay $100 million to HealthSouth over claims the investment bank failed to discover the fraud.
Shareholders also settled the accounting fraud with HealthSouth in 2006 for $355 million and received another $20 million from UBS in an Alabama court case. Meantime, bondholders received $90 million in their settlement with HealthSouth and $5 million from UBS in state court case. Bondholders and shareholders will also receive compensation from a $2.88 billion judgment against Richard Scrushy. HealthSouth’s founder was acquitted of criminal charges related to the fraud but in 2006 was convicted over a different bribery case.
Related Web Resources:
UBS to Pay $217 Million to Settle HealthSouth Case, BusinessWeek, April 23, 2010
UBS, Ernst Settle HealthSouth Cases for $250.5 Million, ABC News, April 24, 2010
Please contact our stockbroker fraud law firm if you believe that you were the victim of securities fraud.