COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- An attorney for one of three South Carolina men convicted of swindling more than $80 million from thousands of investors says a sentence of 30 years to life is several times more than defendants in other fraud cases.
Federal public defender Parks Small says in court documents filed Monday that Tony Pough should get far less prison time.
A federal jury in November 2009 found the three men guilty of nearly 60 charges each, including conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering and ordered them to forfeit $82 million.
Pough and two co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 14. The trio called themselves the "3 Hebrew Boys" after the biblical tale of three men who were thrown into an inferno but emerged unscathed because of their faith.
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