S.C. attorney general has aggressively pursued those involved in the collapse of Carolina Investors and HomeGold.

Three years ago many cynics speculated that powerful people would never be held accountable for the scandalous collapse of Carolina Investors. Over the past three years, they have seen state Attorney General Henry McMaster tenaciously pursue what he called the "largest and most complex white collar investigation in state history."

McMaster is to be commended for doing just what he promised he would, which was to follow every lead and not close this case until there was no probable cause for more indictments. Two different state grand juries were empanelled, and they have heard from 148 witnesses and issued 205 subpoenas for documents and evidence. On Wednesday McMaster announced his investigation has ended.

What happened to people who put money in Carolina Investors is, as McMaster described Wednesday, "one of the saddest things that I have ever seen." Some 12,000 people lost $278 million when Carolina Investors abruptly closed its doors in March 2003.

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Most of the people who lost their life's savings were mill workers, farmers and small-business owners. They did what any prudent financial investor should never do ó they put most or maybe all of their savings in one place, and they failed to understand what they were investing in. They were, in the words used in some of the indictments, "unsophisticated investors." They didn't understand the implications of putting their savings into unsecured investments ó extraordinarily vulnerable investments at that.

Carolina Investors wasn't a bank, although several of the people now convicted in this case went out of their way to convince friends and neighbors that this Pickens-based financial institution was a safe place to put money that would be needed later for retirement, future medical expenses and college tuition for grandchildren. In fact, by the time it closed, Carolina Investors existed solely to bring in investors' money so it could be shipped to the financially distressed HomeGold. The latter was a finance company that specialized in risky subprime mortgages. The subprime market crashed in the late 1990s, HomeGold ultimately filed for bankruptcy and Carolina Investors folded.

Six officers of Carolina Investors or HomeGold have been charged in this case. Three of those pleaded guilty and one was found guilty by a jury. Two others await trial. Investors who have suffered because they misplaced their trust will never be made whole. But at the very least, they can take some comfort in knowing that justice was vigorously pursued in this case.