Final exec faces sentence in US firm's $275M bust

Donald McQuade skipped lobster dinners and long vacations for decades, pouring every dollar he saved into a little South Carolina company that offered returns close to 10 percent by loaning to people who could not borrow anywhere else.

By the time he turned 75, McQuade was a millionaire. Then, on one horrible day back in the spring of 2003, he realized it was all gone.

On Tuesday, a judge will sentence the final executive convicted in the scheme _ the $275 million collapse of Carolina Investors and parent company HomeGold Financial Inc. Former HomeGold Chief Financial Officer Karen Miller faces up to five years in prison. She cooperated with authorities and …