Attorney General Henry McMaster today is scheduled to announce the latest developments in the state's investigation of the collapse of Carolina Investors Inc. and its parent company, HomeGold Financial Inc.

McMaster said late Tuesday he will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in Columbia "regarding the state grand jury's criminal investigation into" Carolina Investors and HomeGold.

Trey Walker, a spokesman for McMaster, wouldn't comment further.

An estimated 12,000 people, mostly from the Upstate, lost $278 million when Pickens-based Carolina Investors, which sold floating-rate notes and other investments, collapsed.

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Six former Carolina Investors or HomeGold officers were indicted. Four pleaded guilty or were convicted.

Two others -- former HomeGold Chairman and CEO John M. "Jack" Sterling Jr. and former company CEO Ronald J. Sheppard -- have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

An attorney for former HomeGold Chief Financial Officer Karen Miller, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy last September, told The Greenville News her sentencing continues to be deferred while she cooperates with investigators.

Miller faces the prospect of five years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.

Former Carolina Investors President Larry C. Owen and his wife, Anne W. Owen, the former senior vice president for investments, also are cooperating with investigators since each pleaded guilty to securities fraud, Walker said. Their lawyer, Jim Bannister of Greenville, confirmed that Larry Owen, 62, is serving an eight-year prison term. Anne Owen, who turned 53 Tuesday, recently was freed after serving most of a 90-day sentence and is serving 18 months of home detention.