(AP) -- CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Nearly 400 people who lost millions of dollars in an investment scheme run by a former South Carolina college professor will soon gets checks paying back a fraction of what they lost.
The Charleston Post and Courier reports a federal judge approved a settlement Friday paying back about $9 million of the $66 million lost in economist Al Parish's Ponzi scheme.
Anyone objecting to the settlement has 30 days to file an appeal. After that, the checks will be mailed.
Authorities said 490 people lost money in Parish's scheme, but not all of them will get checks.
The judge approved a "rising tide" model to give back the money, meaning people who withdrew little or nothing from Parish will be the first to get a portion of their money back.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
