Ex-Lexington County councilman disbarred over claims of fraud, sexual harassment

A longtime Lexington County lawyer and fixture of county politics has resigned his law license following allegations of sexual harassment and the theft of COVID-19 relief funds.

Billy Oswald, who served on the Lexington County Council, submitted a motion to the South Carolina Supreme Court to resign his law license following two disciplinary complaints. The resignation and acknowledgement of the crimes is the latest blow for Oswald, who has been dogged by scandal since a former employee sued him in 2022 for sexual harassment.

Since then, Oswald was arrested on charges of lewd conduct for allegedly exposing himself to a client’s mother. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also charged Oswald with three counts of fraud related to the theft of funds from the state’s Disaster Unemployment Assistance fund.

In an order released Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court, Oswald “acknowledged” the complaints made in two disciplinary filings that were submitted to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the body responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by lawyers and judges.

The complaints alleged that Oswald solicited sexual services from clients in exchange for promises of money or legal work. Oswald was also accused of performing sex acts in his office, which were witnessed by an employee, as well as fraudulently obtaining $28,000 in COVID unemployment benefits for himself and others, according to court records.

Oswald submitted a motion to voluntarily resign his law license instead of contesting the charges. In an affidavit, he acknowledged that the Office of Disciplinary Conduct “can prove the allegations against him.”

Oswald’s resignation is permanent, and he will not be allowed to apply for admission or reinstatement to the South Carolina bar.

“We are relieved that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel has taken this step to protect the public from Mr. Oswald and it’s vindicating that my clients’ allegations against Mr. Oswald are being acknowledged,” said Columbia attorney Jack Cohoon, with Burnette Shutt & McDaniel. Cohoon has represented two women who accused Oswald of inappropriate sexual behavior.

What did Oswald do?

For decades, Oswald operated a legal practice in West Columbia and was entrenched in local and state politics. In addition to serving on the Lexington County Council, Oswald was the South Carolina director for Gary Hart’s 1984 Democratic presidential campaign and later ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primaries for state House District 89 in 2016 and 2018.

But a 2022 lawsuit by a former employee accused Oswald of fostering a toxic culture of sexual harassment inside his law office.

The suit accused claims the then 74-year-old Oswald of groping the employee, calling female clients and workers “b-----s,” and performing “sexual acts” with prostitutes in the office conference room during work hours.

Oswald would also proposition his employees, telling them that they needed to “take care” of him.

“I am your king. I am your god,” Oswald liked to tell his female employees, according to the lawsuit. “You will do what I tell you to do as long as you work here.”

In her lawsuit, the former employee also described how in 2020 Oswald became “occupied with a scheme to make money by applying for unemployment benefits and CARES Act funds for people.” At the same time, Oswald ordered all of his employees to file for unemployment while continuing to work for the firm, according to the lawsuit.

Oswald would go on to settle the lawsuit.

In 2024, after many of the allegations against him were made public, Oswald ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for state Senate District 26.

In January of this year, Oswald was charged with assault and improperly exposing himself after he allegedly exposed his genitals to the mother of a client seeking legal help and fondled her breasts. In March, Oswald was also charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds by SLED.

In a previous interview with The State, Oswald denied the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. He said that he was physically unable to perform the acts described following a series of surgeries in 2008 for a severe case of gangrene.

This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM.