GREENVILLE, S.C. - The former president of Carolina Investors has been released from prison after serving half of an eight-year sentence for securities fraud.
Corrections Department spokesman Josh Gelinas told The Greenville News that Larry C. Owen was released from a prison in Spartanburg early Friday morning.
The 64-year-old Owen pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2004. Gelinas told the newspaper Owen was eligible for early release through good-behavior and work credits.
More than 8,000 investors lost about $275 million when Carolina Investors and parent company HomeGold Financial collapsed in 2003.
Four other former executives of both companies have pleaded guilty or been convicted. A sixth is awaiting trial.