Dr. Al Parish

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  www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/5242 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/27/2008    Last Visited: 6/27/2008  

  Al Parish, a former Charleston Southern University professor, stood silently with his hands behind his back as the long-awaited sentence was handed down.
  
  Parish pleaded guilty last year to two counts of fraud and one count of lying to investigators.Under federal sentencing guidelines, he faced from 24 years and four months to just over 30 years in prison.
  
  ‘‘I am tremendously disappointed in myself and horrified at these results," Parish told U.S. District Judge David Norton.
  ...
  Walking past the defense table, Robertson turned to Parish and said, ‘‘I hope you rot in hell."
  ...
  Parish, a flashy dresser once known for a Web site depicting him as a superhero with a large ‘‘E" for ‘‘Economan" on his chest, sat impassively during the hearing in a conservative charcoal suit.
  
  Norton ordered Parish, who started running his investment firm in the early 1990s, to repay $66 million investors lost.
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  Prosecutors said Parish spent the money on homes, diamond-encrusted pens and guitars once owned by rock stars like Jimi Hendrix.
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  Parish said he suffered from amnesia when the investigation broke last year, and he has recently been treated for heart problems.But Savage said Parish was competent to face sentencing.
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  ‘‘I liken Mr. Parish to a big fat spider â€" he weaves a web and he waits for the flies and the butterflies to come to him so he can eat them," he said. ‘‘I would ask you, judge, to squash the big fat spider." Subscribe to Marshallindependent

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  www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/13/2008    Last Visited: 5/15/2008  

  Chief U.S. District Judge David Norton said in court documents filed Monday the settlement will be more efficient than having individual investors bring separate lawsuits against the school.Former economics professor Al Parish pleaded guilty in October to fraud and lying to investigators.
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  Prosecutors said that Parish, known for his flashy spending habits, defrauded hundreds of people out of more than $90 million.Parish claimed he suffered from amnesia when authorities announced their investigation in April 2007.
  
  (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.All Rights Reserved.)

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  www.postandcourier.com/assets/webPages/departmental/new - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/6/2007    Last Visited: 4/7/2007  

  Parish, C of C grad, is professor at CSU
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  Al Parish, 49, was born in Hollywood, S.C.He graduated from the College of Charleston in 1979 with undergraduate degrees in mathematics and economics, and returned as an assistant professor in the math department.
  
  He earned a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987.
  
  In 1986 Parish began offering his moneymaking services by launching Parish Economics LLC to oversee investment pools for individuals, corporations and pension and retirement plans.
  
  Still, he kept a foot planted firmly in academia.In 1990 he became a professor at Charleston Southern University, a private college in North Charleston with about 3,000 students.Less than two years later the university honored him as an "outstanding faculty member."
  
  As director of CSU's Center for Economic Forecasting, he developed a forecasting model that has been used by, among others, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.
  
  The chamber's Web site estimates that he lectures on economic and financial topics more than 200 times a year.
  
  He currently sits on the chamber's board of directors, and on the board of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
  
  Parish still teaches classes at CSU.This semester he is teaching two courses - "Investments and Securities Analysis" and "Quantitative Methods."He has also written columns for The Post and Courier.
  
  Parish, a Summerville resident, also taught Sunday school classes on financial planning at his church, according to his Web site.
  
  Over the years, Parish acquired a taste for loud clothes, cartoon art and expensive pens.
  
  He has said his pen collection is valued at $1.2 million and includes a Montblanc model that's studded with 1,400 white and blue diamonds.

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  www.wciv.com/news/stories/0507/422010.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/11/2007    Last Visited: 5/11/2007  

  Parish Indicted On 11 Counts
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  Charleston, SC - A grand jury indicted fallen economist Al Parish on 11 criminal counts Wednesday.He is facing a maximum of 205 years behind bars if he is convicted of defrauding millions of dollars from his investors.
  
  He was arrested in April on one count of lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission about the dollar amounts in his investments.The grand jury indicted Parish on that charge - that carries a maximum of five years behind bars - but also tagged on ten additional counts of criminal mail and wire fraud.
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  But, Savage says, just because investors lose money, it doesn't mean that Parish committed a crime.
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  The government alleges that Parish did provide investors with false statements and used investors' money to pay out other investors.

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  www.postandcourier.com/news/2008/dec/12/attorney_wont_a - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/12/2008    Last Visited: 12/12/2008  

  Former Charleston Southern University economist Al Parish was convicted of defrauding nearly 600 investors. Former Charleston Southern University economist Al Parish was convicted of defrauding nearly 600 investors.
  
  For complete coverage
  
  go to charleston.net/parish
  
  An attorney for convicted economist Al Parish says he has no grounds to appeal his 24-year prison sentence, dealing a setback to Parish's argument that his punishment was too severe.
  
  In a filing Thursday to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., Assistant Federal Public Defender Mary Gordon Baker said she doesn't think Parish has a case.
  
  "It is counsel's opinion there are no legal issues that were not properly raised or disposed of by the district court and there are no grounds for an appeal," she wrote.
  
  The filing also included a letter to Parish at the federal prison in Butner, N.C., in which Baker said she found no meritorious grounds for an appeal but that he could continue the fight if he wished.
  
  "You can raise your issues in a supplemental brief of your own," she told him.
  
  Parish, a former economist at Charleston Southern University, was sentenced in June to spend 24 years in federal prison for an investment scheme in which nearly 600 investors were defrauded of $66 million in his unregistered offering of now failed investment pools.
  
  His earlier defense team had said investor losses could end up being less than estimated when all the assets are recovered and sold â€" potentially affecting his sentencing exposure â€" and that he should have received a lesser sentence when compared with other white-collar fraud convictions.
  
  Chief U.S. District Judge David Norton sentenced Parish within the federal guidelines applicable.
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  After the sentencing, Parish had no means of continuing to pay his own legal bills and was appointed a public defender.

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  www.thestate.com/statewire/story/618387.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/11/2008    Last Visited: 12/11/2008  

  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > var thisArticleId = "618387"; var thisArticleUrl = "/statewire/story/618387.html"; var thisArticleTitle = "Public defender says Parish has no appeal grounds"; var thisArticleSection = "State & Regional - Wire"; var thisArticleCatagory = ""; NYX.cache.iconRoot = "http://pluck.thestate.com/ver1.0/Content/images/icons/"; > if (NYX) { NYX.commentingInit(); } >
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  Public defender says Parish has no appeal grounds
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  CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Flamboyant economist Al Parish has no grounds to appeal his 24-year prison sentence for defrauding investors of an estimated $66 million, a federal public defender wrote in court papers filed Thursday.
  
  "There are no legal issues that were not properly raised or disposed of by the district court and there are no grounds for an appeal," Assistant Federal Public Defender Mary Gordon Baker wrote in a 19-page brief filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
  
  Parish, a former Charleston Southern University professor with a penchant for loud clothes and flashy cars, pleaded guilty last year to fraud and lying to investigators. He is serving time at a federal prison in North Carolina.
  
  >
  
  After sentencing, the public defender's office was appointed to handle the appeal for Parish, who once had a Web site depicting him as a superhero with a large "E" for "Economan" on his chest.
  
  Baker included a letter to Parish at his prison address, telling him she found no "meritorious grounds for the appeal." She added he has the right to raise other issues he wishes to.
  
  Such briefs finding no grounds are not unusual in appellate cases, but don't often make the news, Baker told The Associated Press.
  
  She reviewed the case to determine whether, based on the 4th Circuit standards of review, the Parish appeal had merit.
  
  Prosecutors said Parish spent investors' money on everything from cartoon art and expensive pens to statues of gnomes and one issue raised was whether the lower court made an error in calculating the loss.
  
  A loss below $50 million would have meant a shorter sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.
  
  Baker wrote the court-appointed receiver helping tally Parish's assets was comfortable with the $66 million loss. The receiver said even when all recovered property is sold, the loss would still amount to more than $50 million.
  
  The other issue raised was whether U.S. District Judge David Norton abused his discretion in sentencing Parish to 24 years .
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  Parish can still write his own brief to appeal on some other ground and the appeals court will also review the entire record for errors, she said.
  
  Parish said he was suffering from amnesia when authorities announced their investigation in April of last year.

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  www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/busine - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/28/2008    Last Visited: 8/28/2008  

  CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The federal public defender for South Carolina will handle the court appeal of Al Parish, the former college professor convicted of bilking hundreds of investors out of $66 million.
  
  Parish, an economist who once taught at Charleston Southern, filed a financial affidavit last week seeking help in appealing his federal 24-year prison sentence.
  
  An order filed Tuesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., assigns the Parish criminal appeal to the public defender.
  
  > Parish pleaded guilty last year to two criminal counts of fraud and one count of lying to investigators.Sentenced June 26 and now serving time in a federal prison in North Carolina, Parish has filed a notice of appeal with the 4th Circuit.
  
  While he was also ordered to repay $66 million that investors lost, a judgment in a companion civil suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and filed in federal court last week indicates only a portion of the money went for his personal use.
  
  Parish personally benefited from only $7.7 million, said Alex Rue, the senior trial counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission office in Atlanta.
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  Attorney Andy Savage, who represented Parish during the district court proceedings, said the $7.7 million is important.
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  Parish, a flashy dresser once known for a Web site depicting him as a superhero with a large "E" for "Economan" on his chest, was also a respected economist, often quoted by the media and accustomed to speaking before community groups.
  
  Prosecutors claimed Parish spent the money on homes, diamond-encrusted pens and guitars once owned by rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix.

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  www.baptistcourier.com/1502.article - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/19/2007    Last Visited: 5/19/2008  

  Charleston Southern had filed suit on April 5 against Parish Economics LLC and its owner, Al Parish, a former economics professor at CSU, to protect $10.6 million that the university invested with Parish Economics.
  
  The investment included $5.3 million from the school's endowment of $15.6 million and $5.3 million from current operating reserves.
  
  Parish, 49, is now in jail and accused of losing as much as $134 million from as many as 300 investors.

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  www.charleston.net/news/2008/jun/19/prosecutors_seek_30 - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 6/19/2008  

  Al Parish hospitalized
  ...
  In our special section with every complete story on Al Parish.
  
  Former Charleston Southern University economist Al Parish was transported to the Medical University of South Carolina today, his attorney said.His condition and the circumstances were not known but he had been in the hospital this week where doctors addressed a heart condition.
  
  The hospital visit came on the same day federal prosecutors asked that he receive more than 30 years in prison for his failed investment scheme, saying the toll goes far beyond a simple rip-off.
  
  In court papers filed today just before the noon cutoff for all the Parish paperwork to be in, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked Chief Judge David Norton to sentence Parish at the top of the sentencing guidelines for fraud related to what investigators called a Ponzi scheme.
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  "While the guideline numbers are substantial, they have not taken into account the real tragedy that many victims now face stemming from their dealings with Parish," prosecutors wrote.
  
  "Based on the amount of loss, but more importantly, based on the substantial impact that this crime has had on the numerous victims, the government respectfully requests that the defendant be sentenced at the top of the sentencing guideline range to a term of imprisonment for 365 months."
  
  Parish's scheduled sentencing date is next Thursday.

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  www.postandcourier.com/news/2008/jun/20/year_term_sough - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/20/2008    Last Visited: 6/20/2008  

  30-year term sought for Parish
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  Al ParishAl Parish
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  In our special section with every complete story on Al Parish.
  
  Fallen economist Al Parish was rushed to the emergency room Thursday, hours after federal prosecutors asked a judge to imprison him for more than 30 years.
  
  He was still under medical watch Thursday evening after being admitted for shortness of breath, a family member reported.
  
  Earlier in the day, prosecutors requested a stringent prison term, noting that Parish's Ponzi scheme pilfered the lives of family, friends and co-workers.
  
  "The defendant's victims were young and old, working and retired, healthy and infirm," court papers contend.Prosecutors asked he be held for 365 months after investigators estimate Parish stole or squandered roughly $79 million.
  
  If Chief Judge David Norton accepts the request, the sentence would likely ensure Parish, 50, spends the rest of his days behind bars.
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  Earlier this week, Parish was released from the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital after doctors inserted a device to clear a blocked artery.Parish had a similar device installed 11 years ago.
  
  Parish's sentencing is scheduled for Thursday at the U.S. District Courthouse on Meeting Street in Charleston.
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  Parish's aggrieved investors will be given the chance to describe how the losses affected their lives if they choose to address the court.
  
  Parish, a former Charleston Southern University professor, was charged in a massive case of investor fraud in April 2007.He pleaded guilty in October under a deal with the government that reduced the number of charges from 11 to three.
  
  Prosecutors buttressed their sentencing request Thursday by including excerpts of letters from some of Parish's nearly 600 victims showing both the financial and mental effects of their losses.
  
  "My wife and I have spent many stress-filled days and nights thinking how we can overcome this major setback," one investor wrote."It has been an emotional roller coaster for us.We have wept and still try to deal with the thought that we have failed our children by investing with Al Parish.We have both asked God, 'Why us?' "
  
  Said another, "I have been depressed ever since I learned of Al Parish's deception.My investment, while not large, made me feel like I had options; a bit of money for every once in awhile.I now feel very trapped, just barely able to take care of myself."
  
  Others spoke of working extra jobs and losing money that was earmarked for college tuition while "Mr.Parish was feeding his face in fine restaurants in Charleston and around the world."
  
  In his plea for leniency also filed Thursday, Savage drew on testimony of his client's family, childhood friends, local business leaders and pastor â€" painting a picture of a brilliant, hard-working, charitable Christian.
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  I bet Al Parish will be the first one in line for the "I Believe" license plates.
  
  "Have mercy on me god!!

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