The Curious Case of Stephen Goldfinch’s Disappearing Federal Stem Cell Charge

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by WILL FOLKS

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In the fall of 2013 – during his first term as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives – Palmetto State attorney/businessman Stephen Goldfinch was known to federal investigators and prosecutors as the former owner and operator of a company headquartered in Mount Pleasant called Caledonia Consulting Inc.

Goldfinch is currently in his third term as a member of the S.C. Senate and is one of the leading candidates to become South Carolina’s next attorney general – the top prosecutor in the Palmetto State.

At the time, though, his former company was “primarily focused on the harvesting and the processing of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and the distribution of stem cells.”

On November 26, 2013 – the day a criminal information document was filed against Goldfinch in U.S. district court in Houston, Texas – the embattled elected official provided statements to multiple media outlets in the Palmetto State indicating he was being charged by the feds with a misdemeanor and would likely receive probation.

Goldfinch explained to reporter Meg Kinnard of the Associated Press that one of his contractors “broke the law,” leaving him “ultimately responsible” for the incident under federal law.

“I should have known, and I should have done more to ensure that he was doing his job,” Goldfinch told Kinnard.

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Another media report referenced the “wayward contractor” as former Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) professor Vincent Dammai, who pleaded guilty in July 2013 to introducing stem cells into interstate commerce without the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to Goldfinch, Dammai was “making deals” to sell stem cells “that weren’t part of the original agreement” with his firm.

“While he was stealing from me, he was not following the law,” he told Kinnard.

In an interview with The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper that same day – November 26, 2013 – Goldfinch further stated federal officials contacted him “and told him they would charge him with a simple misdemeanor and recommend probation.”

“At this point, unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it but acknowledge it and accept it and take responsibility for it,” Goldfinch told the paper. “All I can do is tell the truth and tell it fast.”

In an in-depth article published by Rick Brundrett of The Nerve the following week, Goldfinch elaborated even further on his case, claiming Dammai “hoodwinked me.”

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“I’ve fully cooperated (with federal authorities), and I told them I fully intend to plead guilty,” Goldfinch told Brundrett, adding prosecutors had “already admitted they didn’t see any intent” on his part to commit a crime.

Was that an accurate portrayal of the situation, though?

The docket sheet referencing Goldfinch’s federal charge – as well as a controversial dismissal entry posted more than four years later – indicated he initially faced a felony count related to misbranded drugs.

Had federal officials pursued a felony indictment, Goldfinch would have been automatically suspended from office. Had he pleaded guilty or been convicted of a felony charge, he would have automatically vacated his office.

“On or about April 26, 2006 and continuing through December 30, 2008, (Goldfinch), aided and abetted by others known and unknown to the United States attorney, caused the introduction and delivery for introduction into interstate commerce stem cells that were misbranded,” the federal information document entered against Goldfinch noted.

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(U.S. District Court)

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What may have elevated this charge from a misdemeanor to a felony?

In an unrelated federal civil case filed against Goldfinch in Texas on Christmas Eve 2013, one of his former business associates accused him of having “bragged about making $5 million dollars off the sale and distribution of stem cells in Texas.”

Needless to say, Goldfinch never followed through on his intention to plead guilty… which is where this story gets even more interesting.

Kinnard’s initial article on the case noted Goldfinch retained former S.C. attorney general (and former U.S. attorney for South Carolina) Henry McMaster to “help him work out a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.”

“No court dates have been set,” Kinnard noted.

Nor would they be…

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While federal officials later confirmed Goldfinch’s case would be transferred to the district of South Carolina – and Goldfinch himself confirmed he was set to appear in court in mid-December 2013 – nothing happened.

For the next four years, Goldfinch’s case went completely silent.

No grand jury was ever impaneled.

No indictment was ever handed down.

No motions were ever filed.

And no hearings were ever held.

“It just sat there for four years,” an attorney familiar with the saga told us.

During this entire time, Goldfinch “never entered an appearance in any district” related to the charge against him – meaning he was never arrested, arraigned or made to formally respond to the allegations leveled against him.

On December 13, 2013, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Texas put in a notice of appearance in Goldfinch’s case. That was the last recorded action in the matter until December 21, 2017 – precisely four years and eight days later.

On that date, a hastily drafted, 171-word motion was submitted by federal prosecutors in Texas requesting the case against Goldfinch be dismissed. Among the stated justifications for this request?

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“The evidence (against Goldfinch) has been destroyed,” the motion noted. “And witnesses are no longer available.”

“The (FDA) has destroyed its evidence and has requested this case to be dismissed,” the motion continued. “The United States no longer desires to prosecute this matter.”

According to the motion, the felony charge against Goldfinch “was never presented to a grand jury and no true bill (indictment) was ever returned.”

“This matter was filed under a proposed agreement which would have transferred this cause (sic) to the District of South Carolina,” the motion claimed. “The transfer was never effectively accomplished.”

What, exactly, did the feds accomplish in connection with this case?

Nothing… except to have it dismissed.

A week after the federal motion to dismiss was submitted, an order doing precisely that was signed by U.S. district court judge Kenneth M. Hoyt.

And just like that… the federal case against Goldfinch vanished.

“Unheard of,” an attorney familiar with federal criminal prosecutions told us. “Totally irregular.”

“Follow the politics,” another advised, referring to the alleged involvement of McMaster in the disposition of the matter. “Goldfinch had Henry Mac pulling strings with Trump.”

Not long after becoming Goldfinch’s attorney, McMaster’s political career flourished. He became lieutenant governor in 2015 and was one of the first establishment supporters of Donald Trump in the 2016 “First in the South” presidential primary in South Carolina. Trump rewarded McMaster by gifting him the governor’s office in 2017 – paving the way for his ascension when he appointed then-S.C. governor Nikki Haley to be his United Nations ambassador.

Goldfinch, meanwhile, was reelected to the S.C. House in 2014 and elected to the State Senate in 2016.

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The timing of the dismissal of Goldfinch’s case has raised eyebrows – and political concerns. On December 20, 2017, the U.S. Senate confirmed Texas attorney Ryan K. Patrick as Trump’s attorney for the southern district of Texas. The very next day, Patrick’s office filed its abbreviated motion to dismiss Goldfinch’s case.

Is that a coincidence? Or an indicator of improper political influence being exerted behind the scenes?

Reached by FITSNews for comment, Goldfinch pinned the blame for the stem cell scrutiny on former S.C. senator and two-time S.C. Democrat Party (SCDP) chairman Dick Harpootlian.

“When Dick was chairman of the party and I was running against his buddy Vida Miller in 2013, mysteriously it popped up,” Goldfinch said. “You gotta ask yourself, why then? In 2016 when I’m running and getting beat up by Nikki Haley it pops up again. Why then?”

“Here we are tuning for attorney general and it pops up again,” Goldfinch added. “It’s lawfare, that’s exactly what it is.”

According to Goldfinch, the case stemmed from “an administrative misdemeanor from something I didn’t have my hands on.”

“I would have pled guilty if they charged and pursued it,” he said. “When the campaign was over, they dismissed it. It was dropped.”

Goldfinch claimed Harpootlian “actually apologized to me about it years ago.”

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According to Goldfinch, Harpootlian’s support for the candidacy of David Pascoe – one of his two rivals in the race for attorney general – is the alleged impetus for the revived scrutiny.

“Dick is going to be the de facto attorney general under Pascoe,” Goldfinch claimed. “Dick will vehemently deny that, but if he’s honest with us – that’s exactly what its going to be. And this is exactly what we can expect from the attorney general’s office.” 

As to the substance of the allegation against him, Goldfinch stated “in every federal administration’s regulatory regime there are ridiculous requirements.”

“My biotech company was under this oppressive regulatory regime,” he said. “As CEO of the company I was responsible for those regulatory processes. One of those (processes) was not met. A piece of paper that was supposed to go into a box wasn’t put in the box – one box out of thousands we sent out.”

“One of my employees made a mistake,” Goldfinch continued. “He did not put a piece of paper in there like was supposed to. That was the accusation, and I’m ultimately responsible for that piece of paper even though I’m not handling those boxes and even though i was never in the mailroom.”

Asked about the curious timing and circumstances of his case’s dismissal, Goldfinch said he had no insight into the decision – aside from his belief that the charge against him lacked merit from the beginning.

“Hopefully Trump’s nominee recognized it for what it was – a political persecution,” he said. 

Wait… a “political persecution?” On a charge to which he initially said he was pleading guilty?

Goldfinch distinguished between the two charges, pointing to his public comments at the time as referencing the misdemeanor charge he thought he would be facing.

“Does a regulatory misdemeanor make me into a convicted felon like Pascoe is saying?” he asked. “That’s just political campaign theater.”

Goldfinch, Pascoe and S.C. eighth circuit solicitor David Stumbo are campaigning for the Republican nomination for attorney general of South Carolina. Partisan primary elections in the Palmetto State are set for Tuesday, June 9, 2026. In the event no candidate were to receive a majority of the ballots cast on that date, a head-to-head runoff election between the two top vote-getters would be held two weeks later, on June 23, 2026.

Keep it tuned to FITSNews for continued coverage of all the “political campaign theater.”

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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.

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