‘Mismanagement’ by Loftis’ office could have cost SC taxpayers, state watchdog finds
South Carolina treasurer Curtis Loftis enabled a questionable state Election Commission purchase of ballot scanners, resulting in a “mismanagement” of a state financing program, a state inspector general investigation found.
Whether the treasurer’s office committed any misconduct is not for the Inspector General to determine the report said.
Inspector General Brian Lamkin said he sent the report to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI. A SLED spokesperson said they received the report and were reviewing it.
State Sen. Larry Grooms requested the report last year to continue investigations into the embattled treasurer, who the Senate voted to oust in 2025 after a $1.8 billion accounting error came to light. The report took longer than expected, Grooms said, because the inspector general found issues with how the office handled its master lease program.
The detailed 42-page report found just before the 2024 general elections Loftis helped the state Election Commission purchase $28.8 million voting machines using the master lease program.
The treasurer’s office did so without confirming the Election Commission had the money to pay off loans used to purchase the machines, according to the report.
“He did so knowing that the Election Commission would be unable to make the lease payments,” Grooms said. Grooms has also been critical of the necessity of the new ballot scanners, saying the state “wasted” more than $30 million on the purchase.
Loftis denies that he didn’t do his due diligence in executing the master lease program, blaming Election Commission staff. The machines were purchased by former executive director Howard Knapp, who has since been fired, arrested, and charged on several counts, including misconduct in office, embezzlement of public funds and use of office for financial gain.
“The STO’s master lease program did not cause or contribute to the missteps of the State Election Commission related to the acquisition and management of its voting machines,” Loftis wrote in a statement. “The Election Commission and its former staff are under investigation based on numerous allegations of wrongdoing and criminal activity.”
The Election Commission’s failure to pay back a loan on time for the ballot scanners was first revealed in October 2025. The agency owed TD Bank roughly $33 million in loans, interest and sales tax for the ballot scanners. About a third of the payment was due in September 2025 as state funding to make a payment on the purchase wasn’t given to the Election Commission until February 2026.
The late payment could have cost the state more than $5 million in late fees, which would also not have been available to the Election Commission on time, leading to an “endless debt cycle,” according to the report.
“This exposed taxpayers to millions in avoidable liquidated damages and violated the STO’s core obligation to faithfully discharge official duties and protect the state’s fiscal interests,” the report read.
But former interim executive director Jenny Wooten negotiated a deal with the bank to pay late at the advice of Loftis. The late payment still cost the state just under $140,000, according to Inspector General’s the report.
“When that problem surfaced, my office stepped in to help prevent penalties and protect taxpayers,” Loftis said.
The instance of “mismanagement” was referred to the governor’s office.
The investigation also found Loftis was not adhering to some reporting requirements, and questioned how the treasurer’s office spends money allocated to it by the General Assembly. Loftis denied the allegations in a statement.
“Reporting requirements that are spelled out of statute are continuing to be violated, and they have been violated, and that’s what led to the $1.8 billion in errors, not being able to check fund balances and reconcile things,” Grooms said on the floor Thursday.
Loftis also objected Thursday to how the inspector general’s office characterized the requirement of reporting the state’s bank balances and insisted the state’s law on financial reporting need to be updated.
“It highlights outdated statutes written for a very different era of government finance, long before modern banking systems and statewide accounting platforms existed,” Loftis said.
Loftis had been embroiled for two years in a controversy over a mysterious $1.8 billion account listing on the state’s books that was not assigned to any particular agency or use.
The controversy led to a two-year long investigation by members of the state Senate Finance Committee. Outside auditors eventually determined the money never existed. The state’s finances are under a Security and Exchange Commission investigation over the accounting issues.
Loftis denied wrongdoing during the Senate investigation and pointed the finger at the previous Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, who resigned in 2023 after he inflated the state’s cash balances by $3.5 billion over the course of 10 years.
The Senate last year voted to oust Loftis from office, but the House did not take up the resolution to remove the treasurer.
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 2:01 PM.
