Jump to content

Earle Morris Jr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Earle Morris, Jr.)
Earle Morris Jr.
36th Comptroller General of South Carolina
In office
1976–1999
Preceded byJ. Henry Mills
Succeeded byJim Lander
Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
In office
1971–1975
Preceded byJohn C. West
Succeeded byW. Brantley Harvey Jr.
Personal details
Born(1928-07-14)July 14, 1928
Pickens, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 2011(2011-02-11) (aged 82)
Political partyDemocratic

Earle Elias Morris, Jr. (July 14, 1928; Pickens, South Carolina – February 11, 2011) was an American Democratic politician, who served in both houses of the South Carolina General Assembly.

Morris served as the 81st Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina 1971–1975, elected on a ticket headed by John C. West, the outgoing lieutenant governor. West and Morris defeated, respectively, the Republicans Albert Watson and James M. Henderson. In 1976, Morris was elected Comptroller General by the General Assembly on June 16, 1976, to fill the unexpired term of outgoing Comptroller General J. Henry Mills; he served in that office from 1976 to 1999.[1]

Morris was a co-founder and director, later chair, of Carolina Investors, a financial company that provided commercial banking services as well as making high-risk loans to people with low credit scores.[2][3][4] In the 1990s, the company was taken over by HomeGold, which expanded Carolina Investors' subprime lending. When HomeGold began to lose money, it borrowed from deposits made to Carolina Investors and eventually failed in 2003, resulting in 12,000 people reportedly losing an estimated $278 million.[4] Several corporate officers, including Morris, were sentenced to prison for their roles in the fraud.[5] Morris was convicted on 22 counts of securities fraud, and sentenced to 80 years total; the sentences were concurrent rather than consecutive, so the sentence was de facto four years.[6] He was released in March 2010 due to a terminal illness.[2]

Morris died on February 11, 2011, at the age 82, of prostate cancer.[2]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "South Carolina House Journal – May 7, 1998 – Concurrent Resolution S. 1229". South Carolina House of Representatives. May 7, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2020. Whereas, the Honorable Earle E. Morris was elected Comptroller General by the General Assembly on June 16, 1976, to fill the unexpired term of J. Henry Mills; and Whereas, the Honorable Earle E. Morris was elected by the people of South Carolina as Comptroller General on November 7, 1978, and was re-elected to four consecutive terms and served a total of twenty years as Comptroller General.
  2. ^ a b c Kinnard, Meg (11 February 2011). "Former politician Earle Morris dies at 82". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  3. ^ Court, South Carolina Supreme (2010). Reports of Cases and Matters Determined by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals of South Carolina. R.L. Bryan Company.
  4. ^ a b Barnett, Ron. "15 years later, the collapse of Carolina Investors 'still hurts'". Independent Mail. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  5. ^ "Morris Sentenced in Carolina Investors Case". wltx.com. 20 November 2004. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  6. ^ "S.C. official gets 4 years for securities fraud". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Henry Mills
Democratic nominee for South Carolina Comptroller General
1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
1971–1975
Succeeded by