Sea Island Company paid its top executives fat bonuses before filing for bankruptcy protection.

Court filings show the executives got the bonuses in the year before the resort operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Five company officials shared bonuses totaling about a half million dollars.

The payments came up in a meeting of creditors in the company's court case this week.

The heftiest bonus -- about a quarter million -- went to Sea Island Company president David Bansmer earlier this year.

Bansmer says, he understands the bonuses could upset people after the company eliminated jobs and cut salaries.

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