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Former Palmetto State Bank (PSB) chief executive officer Russell Laffitte appeared before South Carolina circuit court judge Heath Taylor this week for a status update on the numerous financial crimes he is facing at the state level. Laffitte, who was convicted and sentenced to seven years in federal prison for bank fraud, wire fraud and the misapplication of bank funds, recently saw his guilty verdicts vacated by the U.S. fourth circuit court of appeals due to a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights.
That violation took place when U.S. district court judge Richard Gergel initiated a controversial eleventh hour reshuffling of the jury during its deliberations.
While federal prosecutors have made it clear they intend to retry Laffitte, South Carolina prosecutors are poised to put him on trial in the fall of 2025 for the alleged misappropriation of more than a million dollars in bank funds.
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RELATED | ALEX MURDAUGH PLEADS GUILTY TO STATE FINANCIAL CRIMES
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Although Laffitte faces nearly two dozen total charges at the state level, prosecutors in the office of attorney general Alan Wilson have elected to first pursue an Allendale, S.C.-based indictment. Laffitte is accused of conspiring with convicted fraudster Alex Murdaugh to steal bank funds in order to cover a shortfall produced by an earlier alleged misappropriation from a trustee for whom Laffitte served as a fiduciary.
Murdaugh pled guilty to his role in the scheme in November 2023, negotiating a 27 year sentence to resolve all 22 of the state financial charges brought against him. If convicted of criminal conspiracy, Laffitte could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters made it a point to address the ability of Laffitte’s attorney – powerful lawyer-legislator Todd Rutherford – to invoke legislative immunity from court appearances, enabling him to opt out of any trial date the state attempted to set during the first half of the coming year.
Taylor agreed to make inquiries with Allendale County officials about the availability of a courtroom in October 2025 for what the state expects will be a two-week trial.
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Once a tentative date was set, the parties agreed to privately discuss bond and the disposition of Laffitte’s assets – and to present Taylor with their agreements for his approval.
Defense attorney Mark Moore – who led Laffitte’s successful bid to overturn his federal verdicts – noted his client remained on federal GPS monitoring, arguing it was duplicative and unnecessary for prosecutors to demand Laffitte also wear an ankle monitor.
“When someone is on federal bond, not only are are they subject to a monitor, but they’re monitored by an individual United States probation officer.” Moore noted, adding that “Laffitte has an individual United States probation officer who he reports to, who he has to communicate with, who supervises him.”
This provides for a much more rigorous accountability than a South Carolina bond, which relies on private companies to track defendants. As FITSNews has previously reported, numerous state-monitored defendants have gone on to commit violent crimes while ostensibly under “supervision.”
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Moore noted that “two monitors makes it very, very difficult for (Laffitte) to sleep.”
Both parties appeared confident an agreement could be reached regarding Laffitte’s bond outside of the courtroom.
Moore also argued Laffitte’s wife should be allowed access to half of the funds generated in the liquidation of the couple’s home – noting she is legally entitled to the funds and that they would be used to resolve the accrued accounts payable with his law firm.
“Obviously, I think everyone recognizes that the Sixth Amendment gives him the right to select counsel of his choice and to pay that counsel” Moore said.
Moore also sought to correct Gergel’s assessment of Laffitte’s financial position – concurring with the federal judge’s assessment that Laffitte has around $10 million dollars in assets but suggesting he had only $3.5 million in liabilities, which would be $1.5 million less than Gergel’s estimate.
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Attorney Eric Bland, who represents Murdaugh financial crime victims Hannah and Alania Plyler, told members of the media outside the courthouse he believes “all the plaintiffs attorneys, including me, would disagree with” Moore’s low assessment of Laffitte’s liabilities, adding that fellow plaintiff’s attorney Mark Tinsley “would definitely disagree with that.”
In addition to his federal and state criminal charges, Laffitte is also a co-defendant in a civil suit alleging he participated in misappropriating assets from the estate of Donna Badger.
Taylor elected to allow the parties to attempt to settle the issue of how Laffitte will be allowed to fund his continued legal battle outside of the courtroom – offering to schedule another hearing on the matter in the event an amicable solution could not be reached.
With a window set for his first state trial, expect further hearings to resolve various pre-trial issues. Count on FITSNews to keep our audience up to speed on all of Laffitte’s various legal travails…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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1 comment
Todd Rutherford humble bragged that he had cases older than five years all over the state while claiming that his judicial immunity had nothing to do with the delay in bringing Ol’Russell to trial expeditiously.
END JUDICIAL IMMUNITY NOW!