MORNING HEADLINES | Former North Charleston state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis is facing up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines after pleading guilty Wednesday to charges that he bilked his law firm’s clients out of about $800,000 they were owed in legal settlements.
The personal injury attorney, who resigned from the S.C. House and saw his law licence suspended after his 2024 indictment, pleaded guilty to nine counts of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft. In addition to prison time, each charge carries a potential fine of up to $250,000. A tenth charge of illegally conducting interstate commerce was dropped in exchange for his plea.
The charges stemmed from what prosecutors alleged was a scheme to defraud his clients of almost $1 million between 2022 and 2024, when the State Law Enforcement Division began investigating the case in connection with a civil lawsuit by a former client.
Victims included a recent widower, an injured child, and a client on a ventilator.
“This is the lowest part in some people’s lives, and he used that to his advantage to move money around,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said.
Pendarvis will be sentenced at a future date.
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