MORNING HEADLINES | Russell Laffitte, the former Hampton banker and accused co-conspirator of convicted killer Alex Murdaugh, agreed to plead guilty Monday to six federal charges related to bank and wire fraud.
In the plea agreement, Laffitte will avoid going to trial a second time. In 2022, a Charleston federal jury convicted Laffitte of financial crimes spanning from 2011 to 2021. In 2023, he was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution as well as forfeit $85,854 in illegal proceeds.
Laffitte won a new trial last year, however, after serving 13 months in a federal prison in Florida. Federal prosecutors said they would put him on trial again. That trial was supposed to begin in May.
Under the plea deal made public between Laffitte’s lawyers and federal prosecutors, Laffitte is slated to get five years, or 60 months, instead of his original seven-year sentence.
During his trial, Laffitte spent five hours on the witness stand, portraying himself as a simple country banker led astray by his misplaced trust in Murdaugh, a lifelong friend and a reliable bank customer who had the gift of gab and could get people to trust him.
Evidence, however, showed he and Murdaugh were responsible for stealing $3.7 million from Murdaugh’s legal clients whose settlement money he steered to Laffitte’s bank. The money was then manipulated and plundered by the two men, who used the funds for loans and personal enrichment, according to prosecutors.
Laffitte will get credit for the 13 months in federal prison he has already served.
In today’s headlines:
CP FOOD: Where to dine out for Easter in the Lowcountry this weekend. Easter takes place April 20 which means it’s almost too late to make plans for dining out or ordering take-out for the big day around town.
Charleston’s Dockside Condominium residents begin move-out process. Dockside Condominium residents began moving out Monday after a plan approved by the City of Charleston and the Dockside Board of Association stated the process could start.
U.S. HUD secretary praises Charleston’s approach to homelessness. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott on Monday toured One80 Place’s homeless shelter and a six-story apartment complex that is currently under construction in downtown Charleston.
Mace says she was targeted by man accused of threatening to kill Trump. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Charleston, told Republicans at a county convention Monday that she was among the targets of a Pennsylvania man charged last week with threatening to kill President Donald Trump and other officials.
4 charged during senior skip event on Isle of Palms. With an upped police presence and “zero-tolerance” policy, officials report that no violence occurred at the annual senior skip day gathering that brought hundreds of teens to Isle of Palms on April 11.
Hundreds waitlisted for S.C. pre-K despite thousands of openings. Hundreds of 4-year-olds across South Carolina are on waitlists to access state-funded preschool programs, even though there are thousands of open seats, according to a report presented Monday to the state Education Oversight Committee.
Loftis goes to GOP faithful as fight over $1.8B error heats up. Embattled state Treasurer Curtis Loftis on Monday told the Greenville County Republican Convention that he will run for reelection next year — even if the Senate votes to remove him from office
ICE’s growing S.C. presence threatens trust between police, community. As more sheriff’s offices in the state join ICE’s enforcement program, community leaders are concerned about hard-won relationships between local police and Latino residents fracturing.
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