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Ex-South Carolina State Trustee Chair Gets 4 Years in Prison

Jonathan Pinson was accused of accepting and receiving kickback during a series of schemes.

Charleston, SC (WLTX) - The former South Carolina State University Trustees Board Chair has been resentenced to four years in prison over his connection to several corruption schemes.

Jonathan Pinson, 47, received the punishment in a federal court in Charleston Thursday.

In addition to the prison time, he'll have three years of supervised release once he gets out, and must pay $337,000 in restitution.

Back in June of 2014, a jury convicted Pinson on several charges related to corruption. In one case, Pinson was accused of steering the promotion of a concert at SC State's homecoming to a friend in exchange for a kickback.

In another crime, federal prosecutors say he took federal funds that were supposed to be used for a diaper plant in Marion County. The grant money was supposed to go to helping create jobs in that area, but prosecutors say he and several of his associates pocketed the money.

In court, prosecutors also said Pinson took federal stimulus money that was intended for a development known as the Village at Rivers Edge, and used his position at SC State to purchase a property known as the "Sportsman's Retreat." In the Sportsman's situation, prosecutors say one of Pinson's business partners gave him a $90,000 Porshe SUV as a kickback.

He was sentenced in 2015 to five years in prison, but in 2017, a federal court overturned part of the conviction related to racketeering charges. That led to the hearing on Thursday.

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