COLUMBIA, S.C. - Investors would get more time to sue in financial fraud cases under a Senate bill introduced Thursday.

The bill is in reaction to questions surrounding the financial dealings of HomeGold Financial in Columbia and Carolina Investors in Pickens.

HomeGold filed for protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week. A week earlier, HomeGold subsidiary, Carolina Investors of Pickens, had closed its doors on investors wanting their money back.

Carolina Investors' money was used to support HomeGold Financial's mortgage operations, including higher-risk refinancing operations. Carolina Investors is HomeGold's largest unsecured creditor with a $275 million claim.

"It is a shame, a terrible shame what has happened and should never be allowed to happen again in South Carolina," Sen. Ralph Anderson, D-Greenville, said.

The bill expands the time for lawsuits to be filed in financial fraud cases. It's now three years, but the bill changes that to three years from the time a person discovers an "untrue statement or omission." The bill expands liability in fraud cases to people assisting in fraudulent acts, not just those committing them.

The changes "will empower anyone who has been wronged to right that wrong," said Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens and one of the bill's sponsors.