Indicted: Murdaugh, Hampton banker, Beaufort lawyer charged with major financial crimes

A state grand jury has indicted former Hampton banker Russell Laffitte on various financial charges and added new indictments against suspended lawyers Alex Murdaugh and Cory Fleming.

Laffitte, 51, former chief executive officer of Palmetto State Bank, had not been indicted before.

He is expected to appear as early as Friday at a bond hearing in Richland County.

Murdaugh, 53, of Hampton, and Fleming, 53, of Beaufort, have previously been charged with other financial crimes by a state grand jury.

The indictments were handed up by the state grand jury April 14, but were not made public until Wednesday. No further explanation was given by the state Attorney General’s office, which oversees the state grand jury.

A lawyer for Laffitte, Matt Austin, said Wednesday afternoon, “Russell Laffitte has been cooperating throughout the investigation while maintaining his innocence. We intend to fight the charges vigorously and look forward to our client having his day in court.”

In the new indictments, Laffitte faces 21 charges for alleged schemes to defraud victims of $1.8 million.

Murdaugh faces four new charges, and there are five new charges against Fleming, a longtime Murdaugh friend and college classmate. Some of Wednesday’s indictments against Fleming and Murdaugh were superceding, or revised, indictments of previous indictments.

Murdaugh is now charged in 15 separate indictments containing 79 charges against him in schemes to steal some $8.4 million from various alleged victims.

Fleming is charged in two indictments alleging he stole $3.7 million from victims.

Debbie Barbier, Fleming’s attorney, said Fleming is “not making any statements at this time.”

Dick Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh’s lawyers, declined comment.

Laffitte, who was fired by his bank in early January, was indicted along with Murdaugh on charges he and Murdaugh conspired to misappropriate $350,245 in money held in trust at Palmetto State Bank for client Natarsha Thomas. Specific charges against Laffitte include breach of trust with fraudulent intent, conspiracy and computer crime.

An indictment in the case says Laffitte served as a conservator for Thomas’ money and that, in a scheme with Murdaugh, received a $325,000 insurance payment for Thomas and deposited the money in his law firm’s client trust account. Murdaugh then had a $325,000 check written out of the client trust account payable to Palmetto State Bank, gave that check to Laffitte, who then used that money to purchase a money order payable to a Murdaugh family relative, the indictment said.

Another indictment charges Laffitte and Murdaugh with conspiring to misappropriate $1.1 million in money Laffitte controlled at Palmetto State Bank. Part of this money was used to allow Murdaugh to pay off loans made to him by Laffitte from client funds in an unrelated case in which Laffitte served as a fiduciary, or trusted manager, according to the indictment.

Murdaugh and Fleming also are charged with conspiring to misappropriate $89,133 in funds that Fleming held in trust as attorney for Pamela Pinckney, a client of Fleming’s.

Fleming is also charged with breach of trust as attorney for Pamela Pinckney of $8,078 to take himself, Murdaugh and an unnamed attorney on a private plane to the 2021 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

‘Justice has been done’

Justin Bamberg, the attorney for Pamela Pinckney and Natarsha Thomas, applauded the indictments when reached Wednesday afternoon.

“Justice has been done,” he said. “Murdaugh and Laffitte have experienced the benefit of inheriting generational wealth, and that was not enough for them. To think of their depravity and their selfishness in using my clients’ money...”

Laffitte had been appointed representative for Hakeem Pinckney, a Hampton man who was left a quadriplegic after a 2009 car crash, and two of Pinckney’s other family members who were also hurt in the wreck. Hakeem Pinckney later died in a care facility. Murdaugh secured a hefty insurance settlement for the Pinckney family but has been accused by the state grand jury of stealing more than $800,000 in funds meant for the family from that settlement.

Both Lafitte and Murdaugh come from well-to-do old Hampton County families with roots in two of the county’s most venerable institutions — the Murdaugh law firm and the Palmetto State Bank, both over 100 years old. The privately-owned bank has more than $500 million in assets and branches in Allendale and Beaufort counties.

McClatchy newspapers, including The State, the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette, have previously reported that the Laffitte family bought the bank in 1955. In 2020, Russell Laffitte took over the job of CEO from his father. However, it would turn out to be a short stint in the position.

Palmetto State Bank’s board dropped Laffitte as CEO in January after questions came to light regarding his role as a legal representative for individuals who had their money allegedly stolen by Murdaugh.

In several cases, Laffitte would inexplicably serve as a personal representative or conservator for victims who received large insurance payouts secured by Murdaugh.

The position of personal representative or conservator typically falls to a responsible family member of an incapacitated person or a minor who received a large settlement. Their job is to oversee the pot of money and make sure it’s disbursed or invested properly.

Investigations concerning Murdaugh and related potential targets and financial matters are being done by the state grand jury, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, the State Attorney General’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI.

Although the state grand jury and SLED are investigating Murdaugh-related matters, a federal grand jury has been conducting a secret in-depth investigation apparently centering on Palmetto State Bank and its activities.

Murdaugh is currently in jail in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County unable to make a $7 million bond.

The killings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22, last June at the familly estate in Colleton County remain unsolved.

Editor’s Note: The article has been corrected to reflect Rep. Justin Bamberg’s quote. Bamberg said, “Murdaugh and Laffitte have experienced the benefit of inheriting generational wealth, and that was not enough for them. To think of their depravity and their selfishness in using my clients’ money.” He did not say that Hampton banker Russell Laffitte flew to Omaha with Alex Murdaugh and Cory Fleming.

This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:23 PM.