Former investment exec to be released from prison

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former sales executive serving time in prison for bilking thousands of investors out of $165 million is about to be released from prison.

WRAL-TV in Raleigh reports (http://bit.ly/KMCTAU ) that U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle ruled during a hearing Thursday that Stan Van Etten would be released from a federal prison in Estill, S.C., in six months.

Boyle slashed the prison sentence after ruling that Van Etten had provided substantial assistance to federal authorities as an informant while in prison. He helped the government prosecute several Bureau of Prisons employees in Estill on corruption charges.

Van Etten pleaded guilty in April 2005 and cooperated with prosecutors, who said it came too late to give him a break in sentencing. Van Etten received a 10-year sentence in November 2006.

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Information from: WRAL-TV, http://www.wral.com