Investors getting $19M from ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ scam

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Investors are getting back more money they entrusted to a three men now serving decades in prison for an $80 million scam.

U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said Wednesday that court-appointed lawyer Beattie Ashmore has issued a round of checks totaling $19 million to people victimized by the “3 Hebrew Boys.”

A federal judge appointed Ashmore to round up and sell assets belonging to Joseph Brunson, Tony Pough and Timothy McQueen. The men were convicted in 2009 on dozens of counts, including money laundering.

Brunson and McQueen were each sentenced to 27 years in prison. Pough was sentenced to 30 years.

The men called themselves the “3 Hebrew Boys,” drawing their nickname from a Biblical account of three men who survived being tossed into a fiery furnace because of their faith.