May 18, 2013

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Former HomeGold chairman granted parole

March 20, 2013 by

The former chairman of a company involved in one of the state’s largest-ever bankruptcies will be released from prison after serving one year for securities fraud.

The South Carolina Parole and Pardons Board voted 3-0 on Wednesday to allow 75-year-old Jack Sterling to be released from prison after serving almost one year of a five year sentence. Sterling was convicted in 2009 for his role in the collapse of Carolina Investors.  He was Chairman of HomeGold Financial Inc., the parent company of the Easley-based investment firm.

About 12,000 people lost $275 million dollars when the company collapsed in 2003. HomeGold took control of Carolina Investors in 1995 and used investors’ money to make high-risk mortgage loans nationwide. However, the market began struggling in 1998 and within four years, HomeGold owed more to Carolina Investors depositors than the company was worth.

Under the terms of his parole, Sterling can have nothing to do with the financial industry, and must perform 200 hours of community service. He had been in prison since last April.

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Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts, Featured, News

Florida developer named in SC State kickback scheme

February 6, 2013 by

A Florida developer has been charged as part of an alleged kickback scheme involving a former trustee at South Carolina State University.

According to documents filed in federal court this week, federal prosecutors have formally named Richard Zahn as a participant in an alleged scheme to sell property he owns in Orangeburg County to South Carolina State University in exchange for kickbacks to university officials. The news was first reported by the Charleston Post & Courier.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has announced a hearing will be 11:00 a.m. Friday at the Hollings Judicial Center in Charleston, although the notice did not specifically mention Zahn by name.

According to the documents, Zahn is facing a charge of conspiracy to defraud the government. Zahn is the previously unnamed Florida businessman who prosecutors say conspired to sell 121 acres of land near the town of Cameron to SC State by offering bribes to the school’s former board of trustees chairman Jonathan Pinson and former police chief Michael Bartley. Prosecutors say the offered bribes were expensive cars and cash. 

Investigators said they monitored Pinson’s phone calls in 2011 and learned of his deal with Zahn and Bartley. Prosecutors say Zahn offered Pinson a Porsche SUV in an October 2011 phone conversation. Bartley admitted agreeing to help promote the sale in exchange for about $30,000 and an all-terrain vehicle. Authorities moved to stop the deal before it ever happened.

Zahn’s attorney says his client his is cooperating with the government. Bartley has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy and will be sentenced at a later date. Pinson’s attorney said the charges are false and his client has “never ever taken a dime” to make any decision at South Carolina State.

Greenville businessman Eric Robinson is also charged in a separate deal with Pinson. Prosecutors say Pinson conspired with Robinson to get kickbacks in exchange for using Robinson’s entertainment company to promote a 2011 homecoming concert at S.C. State.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education, Featured, News

SCE&G trims proposed rate increase

November 28, 2012 by

Customers of South Carolina Electric and Gas may soon find out if their power bills will be going up by the end of this year.

The South Carolina Public Service Commission is expected to vote on SCE&G’s proposed 4% rate increase by the end of December. If approved, the hike would take effect in January. The average customer would pay about $31 more a year under the plan.

An original 6.6% rate increase generated lots of criticism, especially after a watchdog group found $1.4 million in “unallowable expenses” that were used to justify the hike. The Cayce-based utility reduced that initial request to the current 4% following an agreement between SCE&G and a number of business organizations and the AARP.

However, the utility plans to offset that with lower fuel prices to benefit its customers. That would result in a net 1.38% increase, the company said. If the Public Service Commission grants the request, SCE&G has agreed to not seek another increase before 2015.

About 75 opponents of the hike turned out for a public hearing on the request in Columbia Tuesday night.

Filed Under: Business, Economy, Energy, Featured, News

SC gasoline prices drop

October 24, 2012 by

The average gas price in South Carolina today is 12 cents less than seven days ago, marking the greatest price decline in one week since 2008, according to AAA Carolinas.

The average price for a gallon of gas in South Carolina today is $3.36, compared to $3.48 one week ago.

Gas prices have dropped 27 cents since Sept. 14, when it was $3.63.

The current dramatic drop is due to the decline in crude oil prices and worries about the possible weakening of the global economy, a decline in demand by U.S. drivers and a stronger U.S. dollar, according to AAA Carolinas.

Greenville/Spartanburg has the state’s lowest average price for a gallon of gas at $3.30; Charleston is highest at $3.48.

Filed Under: Business, News, Transportation

Man arrested, two students sought in Five Points beating

September 27, 2012 by

Updated case information

The Columbia Police Department says that, while overall crime is down, the amount of violent crime reported in the Five Points district has increased by 22 percent this year compared to this same time last year.

The department released the numbers a few days after a particularly violent weekend in the entertainment district near the University of South Carolina campus. That included gunshots and two mob fights. One of those fights was recorded on a cell phone Sunday morning and posted online. The video, which showed a group of black youth attacking a 21-year-old white male and cheering on the attack, led to an uproar in the Columbia community.

One man has been arrested in that incident, 21-year-old Stanley McBride. Police are also looking for two students from nearby Benedict College in relation to the attacks.

“We have to act,” Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott told reporters Tuesday. ”We have to change the mindset that you can come to Five Points and victimize people.”

While Columbia police say overall crime has fallen in Five Points by 25 percent since last year, they say the amount of reported violent crime has increased by 22 percent. Sunday’s attack was the latest of several high-profile crimes in the district. It came roughly 15 months after eight black teens brutally assaulted 18-year-old Carter Strange as he jogged through the area.

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured, News, Recreation & Entertainment
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