By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – Jury deliberations have begun in the fraud case against former HealthSouth C-E-O Richard Scrushy. Federal Judge Karon Bowdre gave jurors their final instructions Thursday. Now the group is considering 16 weeks worth of testimony and exhibits. Scrushy is accused orchestrating a two-point-seven billion dollar fraud by overstating company earnings. He faces several other charges, including conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. He's also the first C-E-O charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law, which requires executives to be responsible for their company's actions.