Grand jury indicts Parish on state securities fraud charge
By Schuyler Kropf (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Friday, November 9, 2007
charleston.net
Former Charleston Southern University economist Al Parish was indicted on a state charge of securities fraud this week as South Carolina prosecutors filed their case against the one-time star forecaster.
Acting on the request of Attorney General Henry McMaster's office, a Charleston County grand jury indicted Parish in connection with his failed investment scheme that cost investors tens of millions of dollars and, in some cases, their life savings.
The state charge, which draws a maximum 10-year sentence, closely mirrors the federal charges to which Parish already has pleaded guilty. However, the state prosecution may not lead to significantly more jail time for Parish should he plead guilty or be convicted. Parish, 50, already faces close to 20 years in prison after admitting his guilt in the federal probe, and it is not uncommon for state penalties to be served concurrently to federal ones.
The new state indictment cites the failed investments "pools" Parish managed through his Parish Economics LLC. The funds included a commodities and securities pool, a bond pool, a stock pool and a hard asset pool, which Parish used to invest in jewelry, watches and art. The set-up was a sham, authorities contend.
"Albert E. Parish Jr. would allow investors to invest in the pools and provided investors with statements that grossly misrepresented the investors' returns and assets," the indictment says.
The indictment also charges that Parish converted the assets to his own use and that he used some of the proceeds and payments from investors to make payments to others in a sort of Ponzi scheme.
"The funds purported to hold approximately $134 million in assets," the indictment says. "In fact, virtually all of the assets of the funds were dissipated."
The time frame cited by the indictment covers April 2002 to March of this year. Significant trading involving the funds ended around June 2003, the indictment says.
Parish's legal team said the new charge was not a surprise and represents "a parallel prosecution based on the same conduct" the U.S. Attorney's Office has pursued.
"We all knew that this was in the works," said attorney Lauren Williams, who is in charge of the Parish case while lead attorney Andy Savage is out of town. Parish had no response, she said.
Last month, Parish pleaded guilty to three of the 11 federal criminal fraud and deception charges he originally faced. He faces a maximum 40 years in jail, but under federal sentencing guidelines his actual prison term would be around 15-20 years, legal experts say.
Parish's sentencing probably will be held in January or February. Until then, he remains free on bond and is living with family near Hollywood.
Recent estimates show that as many as 460 investors are seeking to be reimbursed for losses attributed to Parish's misdeeds, although some could receive less than 20 cents on the dollar in returns. No time for Parish's first court appearance on the state filings was announced.
Reach Schuyler Kropf at skropf@postandcourier.com or 937-5551.
charleston.net |
