Ex-HomeGold Executive Sheppard OKd for SC Parole

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ A South Carolina board has approved parole for Former HomeGold chief executive Ronnie Sheppard, who’s served four years of a 20-year sentence for his role in one of the state’s largest bankruptcies. Probation, Parole and Pardon Services spokesman Pete O’Boyle says a three-person panel voted Wednesday to approve parole for Sheppard. A Lexington County jury found Sheppard guilty in 2007 of securities fraud, conspiracy and obtaining property under false pretenses in the 2003 collapse of HomeGold and its subsidiary, Carolina Investors. O’Boyle says Sheppard has to be looking for work and a place to live before parole can be finalized. More than 8,000 investors lost $275 million in the bankruptcy of Carolina Investors. O’Boyle says no one appeared before the parole board to oppose the decision.