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HomeGold: Sterling fraud trial begins |
Nearly six years after his company’s investment arm closed — and almost three years after he was indicted by a state grand jury — former HomeGold Financial Inc. chairman Jack Sterling goes on trial today in Lexington on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy.Sterling, a longtime Greenville businessman, is the final criminal defendant in what state Attorney General Henry McMaster has called “the largest and most complex” white-collar investigation in state history.The case involves the collapse of Pickens-based Carolina Investors Inc., a 40-year-old firm whose closing and subsequent bankruptcy cost about 12,000 people an estimated $278 million.Sterling, 70, has pleaded not guilty to three criminal counts, including two for securities fraud and conspiracy. The trial is expected to last three weeks.In all, six people, including Sterling, were indicted by a state grand jury. Five have pleaded guilty to various charges or were convicted by a jury, including former Lt. Gov. Earle Morris Jr. and Ronald Sheppard, HomeGold’s former chief executive.
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