|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
South Carolina senator (and 2026 gubernatorial candidate) Joshua B. “Josh” Kimbrell has been named in a sweeping civil lawsuit accusing him of stealing more than $2 million from a Delaware-based aviation company he co-owned with a business partner.
The lawsuit accused the Boiling Springs, S.C. politician – and his co-defendants – of diverting funds “for recreational and personal uses” and to “support his political aspirations.” Sources familiar with the case say the civil lawsuit – which also named Kimbrell’s wife, Liliya Kimbrell – is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Filed by Kimbrell’s business partner, Frank George Rogers of Greenville, S.C., the lawsuit (.pdf) accused Kimbrell of creating a fake business – Exodus Airways LLC – to divert proceeds from Exodus Aircraft LLC, the company he owns with Rogers.
Exodus Aircraft is a Delaware-based company formed in August of 2017. The company – which Kimbrell manages – owns an Embraer EMB-145EP jet which it charters to “private individuals and companies.” Exodus Airways is a South Carolina-based company formed by Kimbrell in April 2024. It is co-owned by Kimbrell and his wife.
***
***
“Josh Kimbrell used a series of complex financial transactions to funnel Exodus’s corporate funds into the coffers of Exodus Airways, LLC (‘Sham Exodus), a bogus limited liability company secretly organized by Kimbrell for purposes of diverting the true Exodus’s corporate proceeds by capitalizing upon the confusion caused by the strikingly similar name intentionally selected by Kimbrell,” the complaint alleged.
In a supporting affidavit, Rogers accused Kimbrell of engaging in “multiple schemes to divert funds away from Exodus Aircraft into his personal bank account or companies owned by him.”
“Kimbrell has diverted in excess of $2 million from Exodus in approximately two-and-a-half years,” the lawsuit claimed.
According to the filing, Kimbrell’s wife “aided and abetted (him) in the abdication of his fiduciary obligations thereby facilitating his unlawful conduct.” Another co-defendant, loan officer Thomas Blake Whitaker of Pinnacle Bank, allegedly “assisted Kimbrell” in diverting funds.
***
How did the alleged scam work?
“Invoices were sent to individuals or companies for the chartered services of Exodus Aircraft’s airplane,” Rogers claimed in his affidavit (.pdf) “The invoices or agreements contained the Exodus Aircraft name but utilize the bank routing and wiring instructions for the Airways bank account. Kimbrell would either provide the individual or company bank and routing instructions for Airways and the money would be wired to Airways bank account or he would instruct the individual or company to write a check in the name of ‘Exodus Air.’ By instructing the individual or corporation to leave the ‘Craft or Ways’ from the payor section of the check or wire, he was able to deposit the funds into the Airways account. Whitaker, as the loan officer, would allow the deposits or wire transfers to be deposited into Airways bank account even though he knew the incoming money was intended for Exodus Aircraft.”
According to Rogers, Kimbrell stole $1.152 million from him via this alleged scheme.
Kimbrell also allegedly “engaged in unauthorized expenditures of corporate funds to pay his own campaign expenses,” as well as his credit cards. Exodus Aircraft’s corporate funds were also allegedly diverted into “paypal accounts held by Liliya (Kimbrell).”
In addition to the civil lawsuit, Rogers and his company filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against Kimbrell and his co-defendants – asking a judge to block any sale of assets, diversion of funds or extraordinary expenditures. The motion also sought to impose a preservation order on Kimbrell regarding “all documents, emails, correspondence, business records, text messages and evidence of any kind” potentially related to the lawsuit.
***
***
S.C. circuit court judge G.D. Morgan Jr. granted the motion on Friday (July 11, 2025) – citing the potential for “immediate and irreparable harm” to the plaintiffs in this case.
Contacted about the lawsuit by FITSNews, Kimbrell said he was “stunned” and “disappointed.” He claimed the allegations contained in the complaint were “ludicrous,” “not true” and “simply inaccurate.”
“These are a bunch of lies,” Kimbrell said. “It’s a completely misrepresented, ridiculous thing. It’s a completely absurd set of misrepresentations.”
According to Kimbrell, his business partner has been trying to take over the company for some time – a move he insists Exodus’ other investors did not support.
“We’ll probably just give him what he wants,” Kimbrell said. “We’ll probably just give him the company and see if he can run it.”
An official statement from Kimbrell referred to the civil suit against him as “lawfare.”
“We’re witnessing a regrettable, uncorroborated case of lawfare from a disgruntled, absent business partner with no function or daily involvement in our operations,” Kimbrell said via the statement. “I’m confident that the facts will come to light, leading to full vindication.”
The lawsuit against Kimbrell was filed just three weeks after the second-term senator from Spartanburg County announced his candidacy for governor of the Palmetto State.
“This is a pivotal moment for South Carolina,” Kimbrell said of his campaign.
Kimbrell, 40, of Spartanburg, S.C. was elected to represent the people of S.C. Senate District 11 (.pdf) in November 2020 – defeating a longtime Democrat incumbent. He was reelected to another four-year term last fall.
This story may be updated.
***
THE LAWSUIT…
(S.C. Thirteenth Circuit)
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
9 comments
Sounds like he took a page out of Murdaugh’s “how to scam your way to wealth” book.
Josh Kimbrell is screwed.
It’s always beneficial to have a crooked banker on your side to help – as Cardgirl56 rightly reminds us. So, is the Mrs. a pilot or flight attendant?
Lots of hungry lawyers out there that will file lawsuits. Some frivolous and full of lies. Others not so. Lawyers do lie.
Josh Krimball slammed Curtis Loftis and had no proof of anything. He talked about Loftis on the radio and speeches in an effort to make himself look like “the good guy.” Now we know he was just using Loftis to make himself look honorable, all the while knowing he was stealing big bucks and about to be sued.
It never fails, those that claim to be the most Christian are the ones you can trust the least.
Senator Kimbrell, God is watching you.
Josh Krimball slammed Curtis Loftis and had no proof of anything. He talked about Loftis on the radio and speeches in an effort to ma ke himself look like “the good guy.” Now we know he was just using Loftis to make himself look honorable, all the while knowing he was stealing big bucks and about to be sued.
It never fails, those that claim to be the most Christian are the ones you can trust the least.
Senator Kimbrell, God is watching you.
Makes me wonder what else he has stolen and from who. Just another shyster politician.
Doesn’t get much shadier than this.
Josh is a swamp Creature.
Drain it, and him. We have enough crooks in Columbia