State Rep. Don Wells, R-Aiken, has begun making payments on the loan he took out from convicted swindler Jay Brooks, according to the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
Wells has made five payments of $500 on the $50,000 loan since Dec. 19, according to Peter O'Boyle, a spokesman for Probation and Parole. The payments are being divvied out to Brooks' victims as they are made.
"We are paying out restitution to victims now based on the amount of the loss," O'Boyle said. "Normally, we like to wait until at least $20 accumulates in a victim's account before mailing out a check. But in some cases we go ahead and send a check for lesser amounts if an extended period of time goes by."
Wells could not be reached for comment for this story, and messages left for him were not returned.
The loan came to light in September when Brooks pleaded guilty to three counts of securities fraud and two counts of forgery. Prosecutors revealed during Brooks' plea hearing that they uncovered a promissory note from Wells for a $50,000 loan.
Wells said during an interview in October that he borrowed the money from Brooks in October 2012 after his business, Park Avenue Paints, fell on hard times. He said he made two or three payments on it before March 2013, when the Securities Division of the Attorney General's office filed a complaint against Brooks and placed a temporary restraining order, freezing Brooks' assets.
Wells said he'd planned to repay the loan but did not try to contact the Attorney General's office or Sherri Lydon, the court-appointed receiver for Compass Academy, until after reading a news story in late September about the receivership coming to a close.
Brooks was sentenced to 15 years in prison and probation, and must pay restitution to some 70 victims once he is released. Probation and Parole will oversee his restitution.
Teddy Kulmala covers the crime and courts beat for the Aiken Standard.