Morris Sentenced in Carolina Investors Case

(Greenville) - Former Carolina Investors chairman Earle Morris was sentenced Friday to a total of 80 years in prison for misleading investors. Morris convinced people to keep their money in the company despite the fact that it was heading for bankruptcy.Morris is a former lieutenant governor and ex state comptroller general. He will serve less than four years because the sentences will run concurrently. A jury found Morris guilty of 22 counts of securities fraud Thursday. He was allowed to stay out of jail on bail while he appeals his conviction. Morris apologized to the court before sentencing. More than 8,000 investors lost $278 million when Carolina Investors went under in 2003.The investors will get 18 cents back for each dollar invested as part of a civil settlement. The 76-year-old Morris testified that he was sorry people lost money and that he lost money himself.The auction of the former Carolina Investors building in downtown Pickens Friday topped off an emotional week for everyone touched by the failure of the company.An anonymous phone bidder from South Carolina outbid the competition and plans to buy the two-story brick office building for $437,500. The bidder also bought the adjacent parking lot for $25,250. Scott Davis of Century 21 Bob Capes Realtors in Columbia represented the mystery buyer. Davissaid the buyer did not have definite plans for the property.