Earle Elias Morris, Jr. (July 14, 1928; Pickens, South Carolina – February 11, 2011) was an American Democratic politician, who served in both houses of the South Carolina General Assembly.
West and Morris defeated, respectively, the Republicans Albert Watson and James M. Henderson.
[1] Morris was a co-founder and director, later chair, of Carolina Investors, a financial company that provided commercial banking services as well as making high-risk loans to people with low credit scores.
[2][3][4] In the 1990s, the company was taken over by HomeGold, which expanded Carolina Investors' subprime lending.
[4] Several corporate officers, including Morris, were sentenced to prison for their roles in the fraud.