MORNING HEADLINES | A federal judge in Charleston on Monday sentenced former South Carolina banker Russell Laffitte to five years in federal prison after his guilty plea to multiple charges, including bank and wire fraud. The pleas were in relation to schemes involving convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh.
The five-year sentence by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel will be followed by a three-year term of supervision. The court also ordered Laffitte to pay a $20,000 fine and $600 special assessment.
“As of today, Russell Laffitte and Alex Murdaugh have both been sentenced to federal prison, and their victims have been made financially whole,” said Bryan Stirling, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “The victims put their trust in Laffitte and Murdaugh after suffering serious injuries and losing loved ones, and they were exploited for financial gain.”
Laffitte is one of several people investigators said that Murdaugh, also convicted of killing his wife and a son, ensnared as he stole millions from his law firm and clients in wrongful death and serious injury cases.
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