CORRUPT PENSION FUND DEALING WITH ANOTHER BLACK EYE
Back in 2012, this website wrote extensively on the American Timberlands scandal at the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission (SCRSIC) – a deal that’s emblematic of this underperforming agency’s over-reliance on questionable “alternative investments.”
This $30 million deal was rammed through the commission by its corrupt chairman, Reynolds Williams. And in typical South Carolina fashion, Williams’ law firm took a nice six-figure cut.
Crazy, huh? Despite this shameless self-serving, Williams continues to be allowed to manage this $25 billion fund – which (thanks to its shady investments) consistently ranks among the worst public pension funds in America.
S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis has been trying to change the culture of corruption at the SCRSIC for the better part of the last four years – arguing that its high fees (the highest fees in the nation, actually), low returns and rampant cronyism are imposing undue burdens on South Carolina retirees and taxpayers.
Exorbitant pay raises and bonuses to commission bureaucrats have also raised questions …
But the most troubling part of the story is the extent to which those entrusted with the best interests of the state’s citizens are instead looking out for their own interests.
Take former SCRSIC Harris Chewning – who left the commission in August 2013 just a month-and-a-half away from a $50,000 bonus.
Should we pat Chewning on the back for this?
No. Not even a little bit.
During his “public service,” Chewning was responsible for managing the American Timberlands account – which he successfully steered through an unprecedented four rejections by the SCRSIC’s internal investment panel.
“Normally, an investment with a record like that would be shredded and never brought up again, and certainly not approved by the Commission!” one source familiar with the process tells FITS.
But Williams wanted the cozy deal done – for obvious reasons. And Chewning helped him push it through despite the objections of those tasked with vetting these deals.
So … anybody care to guess what Chewning is doing now?
Yeah … here’s a screen capture from the “Our People” page of American Timberlands website …
How convenient, right?
Chewning is the company’s “director of capital markets,” according to the website – a position we’re guessing compensates him above and beyond the $50,000 bonus he left on the table at SCRSIC.
Amazing, isn’t it? This guy helps shove through one of the most corrupt deals in the history of this corrupt agency – and all of a sudden he’s on the payroll of the company that profited from it?
“Financial professionals around the country notice this sort of thing and it taints us all,” a source close to the commission tells FITS.
Indeed …
156 comments
They need to shut this place down and start over. It is a sewer.
First they need to conduct an independent audit.
A forensic audit is what they need. That would settle this mess once and for all.
Their past audit or consulting work was not dispositive— more of a glance than a real search for the facts.
Bullshit. They had a fiduciary audit as required by law. Both positives and deficiencies were noted and the Commission voted to begin working on the deficiencies. All of this is posted on the website.
The fiduciary audit is a bunch of hogwash. Funston was paid $700,000 to write what Funston was supposed to write. Have you ever heard of Funston? Of course you haven’t. That’s because Funston is a facade. There are no permanent employees except Rick Funston. When he gets work, he calls in some of his buddies, who take a day off from their jobs and they fly in and do what they are told to do.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis made this statement in May and when told (and proven) it was false he got angry on te speakerphone.
At least he wasn’t whining and crying like Reynolds and Ryberg at the hearings. Poor Reynolds. Curtis is picking on him for being a crook.
The Commission did not hire Funston. The Inspector General did. This was an arm’s length transaction on purpose to insure independence and credibility. You are just upset because one conclusion was that you, the State Treasurer, were one of the biggest risks to the success of the Commission.
True. The inspector general is Curtis’ baby so he needs to STFU and start minding his own corrupt office. Can’t wait to see all of his followers with mud on their faces come January. He IS going down. Just a matter of time. When you continually piss people off, it’s going to catch up with you sooner or later. Can’t be soon enough for some. He is a lying piece of trash who uses religion to try and win over his little group of followers. Ever heard of false prophets ladies? Ask people who meet with him, work with him, and know him on a personal level, about the way he curses using God’s name and throws items in a fit of rage. Not a very Godly man at all. What he needs is anger management and what he needed (as a child) was a few good spankings for that temper of his.
They paid Funston $700,000 for a fairly clean bill of health. Funston cleared them on high fees by claiming that no other plan in the nation reports all fees like the Investment Commission does. According to Funston, every other plan in the country except the Investment Commission is committing accounting fraud by not reporting their fees.
Curtis, they did not say that! Show me the quote. There you go again, lying and hating. You lead a difficult life since people keep frustrating you from doing God’s work. I am so sorry for you. Wonder if God is?
This place has been audited in one form or another four times in the last two years. There is a real commitment to making changes recommended by those audits. Loftis just gets in the way. The quicker he is out of the picture, the better.
A Nikki audit would show the meat and potatoes, along with a frag.
They already have.
Yeah, they had the two Deloitte reviews that ripped them to pieces. They didn’t much care. Who was going to read it? To their surprise, the State Treasurer read those audits. Funston is not even a real audit firm. Funston operates out of an office in a strip mall. If you don’t count Rick Funston, Funston has no permanent employees. Funston is not a CPA. And there is a set of standards for a fiduciary audit, but Funston didn’t follow them. A “fiduciary audit” can be anything. But what the Funston work was–that was an attempt at a snow job.
I, for one, would sure feel better if our State Treasurer had a CPA or any financial credentials. That would at least give some credibility to his rants. He needs a good course on fiduciary responsibility. Just what is his educational background, anyway?
He is the pot calling the kettle black. No CPA, no credentials, but yet he disrespects and condemns his experienced staff for not having a degree. Well at least they have YEARS of experience compared to his none.
What gets me about this investment bunch is that they don’t even try to hide their questionable behavior. I mean, giving a company $30 million dollars of somebody else’s money to get yourself a cush job? Really? That is questionable if not illegal and they don’t seem to care who knows it.
He’s getting paid a lot more than he would have gotten paid at the Investment Commission. They should write under his picture, “This is the guy who put this place on the gravy train.”
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis uses the term “gravy train” in press releases and public hearings.
At least C. Melvin is being transparent about his rhetoric. He promised transparency and he’s delivered it! Now he just needs to sign his name on it, that’s also something he gets his knickers in a bunch about. Honorable people sign their name Melvin. This isn’t 2004 in royal blogs sir! Be a firm wristed man as opposed to a limp wristed man Melvin!!!!
The tactic of attacking Curtis rather than addressing the issues is really wearing thin. But if you can’t address the issues, that’s all you can do, isn’t it?
The honorable C.Melvin Loftis made this story up and is now outraged at us cockroaches for not joining him in or caring about his wannabe crusade. OUTRAGED!!!!!!!!!
Did you mean the “horrible” c. Melvin loftis? ‘Cause there sure isn’t anything honorable about him.
Curtis YOU are this issue and that’s why you’re being “attacked”. Karma.
Curtis is the issue? I thought it was Reynolds who took one of his buddies up there and got $30 million for the guy. Reynolds Williams is the issue and Reynolds Williams is going to remain the issue.
No, this issue is Curtis Loftis who lost the investment fund $200 million in his Bank of New York settlement but enriched his personal attorney and friend in the process by paying him over $2 million in retiree funds for his services in the suit.
Karma is going to kick his ass and hand it to him in a French restaurant in New York.
What is the most critical issue? Curtis Loftis of Course. He is the issue regarding any weaknesses in the retirement fund. Curtis Loftis. The problem! THE problem!
C. Melvin’s rhetoric is certainly transparent. I see no substance in it at all. Why does he use all these pseudonyms to post on FITS all the time? I guarantee you, 50% of the foolish posts on this article are put there by Curtis Loftis. I wonder if he uses his state computer to do this? And state time? How do you like a state Treasurer who spends his time on FITS news instead of doing his job? What a fool!
If you can’t tell I am not Curtis, well, we know you were not the valedictorian, don’t we? The RSIC tactic of attacking Curtis ain’t going to help in the long run. It might help a little in the short term, but not the long run.
False. Cowdad is Curtis Loftis. Fact.
You think Curtis is the only person who is opposed to this corruption. The more news gets out, the more people oppose the corruption at the investment commission. Curtis has smacked Reynolds around a good bit, yeah, but Curtis is not the only person opposed to this corruption.
Let’s see, Curtis and …uh, well,…uh…I can’t think of anybody else who imagines this corruption as vividly as Curtis does. Maybe if there were some there we could get a hint. Seriously, if there were as much corruption there as Curtis suggests, don’t you think that SOMEBODY else would see it? Yet, nobody comes forth except Curtis and his various pseudonyms.
Stop trying to use logic to rationalize curts thoughts. Your brain will be exhausted.
Read the Deloitte reports if you want to understand the possibilities for corruption, possibilities that we see fulfilled in this article Fits posted. Harris Chewning taking the job at Timberlands has the appearance of fraud. If they have put you on the payroll, if you have set up an LLC and they are funneling payments to you, Sam, why can’t you admit that? You can’t admit it because you know it’s fraud, don’t you?
I know a lot of people who are opposed to the corruption in Curtis’ office. Why don’t you jump on that bandwagon Jax?
I am opposed to the corruption in the office of state treasurer. Mostly the state treasurer.
Everybody knows that. He and Jax Crax are the same person: Curtis Loftis. How do you like it that your state treasurer is posting on this web site on state time using state computers?
How would you like to put some money on that? Long run, Loftis is gone. It’s as plain as the nose on your face and can’t happen soon enough. And I was the valedictorian in my class. Were you? Or did you even graduate?
Curtis calls it a gravy train because that is exactly what it is. Notice that Sam and his crowd are not defending Reynolds. They know he is a crook just as sure as everybody else knows that. They attack Curtis to divert attention from Reynolds. Curtis isn’t even in this particular story, unless I missed it. The story is about corruption at the RSIC.
I think Reynolds Williams is a fine, public spirited man who has given generously of his time and expertise to make the Investment Commission a success. We are lucky to have him and I hope he continues in this role for many years to come. What I hope ends soon is any association with this Commission by Curtis Loftis. He has been and continues to be the biggest impediment to the success and focus of the Commission on its mission. When it is forced to continually ward off completely inane accusations by a wild-eyed Loftis gone crazy with his delusions that God is making him do this, it is not spending time on investing retiree’s money. Please, Mr. Loftis, go away!
They need to get rid of Loftis. ” Bottom line= Curtis loftis= Shit for brains. UR a nobody no one can believe. UR are evil See alt. talk. royalty. Is Curtis Loftis gay? 1/18/04 “ The people and the general assembly are informed and will make decisions based on that.. Just a simple internet search..
Dear God, I am begging you. Please give me one of those jobs. Please God, please! I want to be rich. Please.
What state employee is smartest enough to get a $50,000 bonus and then dumb enough to leave it behind? There Republicans are amazing.
The real juice in this article is the TWO ladies next to the “rascal” in the picture…!!
We wonder if Laura or Stacy make as much as HARRIS…!?
Considering that Laura is a CPA, we wonder just how long it takes to get a monthly account read-out…!? This lady is a Lin Bennett wanna-be. She would be the first witness called to testify in front of a jury…!!
Foxes guarding the hen house.
Must be nice to be able to pull tricks and steal from the kiddle. Ya thing? These people scream a need to be sent to prison. Maybe we need to send a firestorm of complaints to the criminal division of the US Department of Justice. After all, seems everyone at SCRSIC are mostly ‘white people.’
And the chairman of SCRSIC hiring his own law firm to handle money?! Whoa! Now, if that is not overwhelming evidence of felony activity, what the hell is? Yeah, this needs federal attention. We’ll do our part to push for it. The rest of you should do the same, unless you are a bunch of cry babies and too afraid to knock on doors.
How about Curtis Loftis hiring his long-time friend, fraternity brother, business partner, personal attorney at the last minute in the Bank of New York Melon case? Guy walks out with a cool $2 million of retirees’ money. You don’t have to look too far from home to find corruption, do you Curtis?
That comment has Curtis written all over it. Misspellings, asking people to bombard the USDOJ, and childish comments (“bunch of cry babies and too afraid to knock on doors”). What an imbecile.
On the Thomas Ravenel Scale of Douchiness, with 1 being the lowest, and 10 being, well, Ravenel, I would surmise that L. Harris Chewning, IV would come in at around 6.
Thomas would make a better treasurer, even high or stoned, than Curtis. Any day. Hands down. And he looks 100% better than that creepy looking Curtis.
FITS needs to share the rest of the story. I’m pretty sure that when the Timberlands deal was agreed to the Commissioners voting for the deal were Loftis, Gillespie, and Powers. Ed Giobbi voted against it and Williams recused himself. I also understand one of the Commissioners may be attempting to convince the Commission to invest more of the fund assets in South Carolina based companies. While this may appear to be sensible I suggest that it will open the door to more cronyism and corruption.
Loftis voted for it, then realized he had not been told the truth, and reported the whole thing to the SLED. That is what started the mess.
He SAID he had not been told the truth. We’re having to take his word on that.
When you vote on something as important as investing millions of dollars of trust fund money you are expected to know the facts. Loftis is either ignorant or lying. Which one is it Curtis. BTW, are you using your private email account or the one the taxpayers furnish you?
Let’s face it: They were the ones lying. Their lying never stops.
Why don’t you tell us what’s in it for you, dude? Are they sending you on trips to exotic locations or what? Did you set up some kind of LLC and they are getting Timberlands and other investees to share the wealth with you? There’s a reason you come on here and take up for them, isn’t there?
Let’s face it: the honorable C. Melvin Loftis can’t believe a guy with more than an associates degree can make more money than him. I bet Chewning has a better RV too!
If whining about Curtis could make the problem go away, I would whine about Curtis right along with you. If getting rid of Curtis would make the problem ago away, I would join in with you on that. But that’s not going to make the problem go away. The problem is not Curtis: The problem is the cockroaches who are profiting personally from the trust fund, such as Harris. Harris is just one example.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis does whine about Curtis Loftis. He usually complains about his looks and his oddly shaped hands.
You may be right. But let’s just get rid of Curtis and see if it works!
Loftis’s word is better than their word, that’s for sure
Loftis’s word is better than their word, as long as you’re Loftis
Loftis can barely compose a grammatical sentence, Nevermind complete a sentence in the English language. Don’t be silly! His word is gibberish rants of a madman!!!
Why? All you elected politicians seem suspicious to me.
Who is “we’re” in that sentence? Curtis and his houseboy? Or Curtis and his other personalities?
Reynolds, wouldn’t it be great for you if Curtis was the only person who opposed your corruption? You’re not going to make this about Curtis. This is about Reynolds Williams. Reynolds Williams is the one who got $30 million for one of his buddies, not Curtis.
This is about Curtis. No ifs or buts about it.
His word is worth nothing, zero, zilch, nada
Bullshit
Shut up, Curtis. Everybody knows you are Jim and 90% of the other posers commenting here. Go away, you nasty slimy scum bucket. The sight of your face makes me want to lose my lunch.
So, Loftis voted for this deal! Please tell me FITS how that fact fits into your little diatribe about the investment commission.
Loftis is the guy that reported the investment. He was lied to, found it out, and did the right thing.
The only lying going on are the lies being told by Loftis. The man can’t stand the truth, makes up stuff to suit his lie du jour and then posts lovely pictures of churches on his FB as penance. Very twisted.
Curmudgeon, has he ever lied about profiting personally off the retirement trust fund like Reynolds has lied about that? Has he ever lied to get $30 million from the trust fund for one of his buddies?
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis lies every day. Especially on his creepy Facebook page.
You are squealing like a stuck pig, which tells me Reynolds must really be feeling the smack down on this one. Hats off to FitsNews for putting this out!
Loftis is a complete tool. Not only did he vote for the Tomberland deal but he also voted several times for the compensation plan that he now claims is excessive.
Curtis found out on his own that the compensation plan was bogus. They had paid some expert consultant thousands to come in and present the plan as a reasonable plan. Curtis found out about Timberlands on his own. Yes, it might be true that it was not so smart to believe a word they say, but who could have imagined they were such hardcore crooks.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis paid some marketing experts MILLIONS to go back on a campaign promise and put himself in TV ads. Jus’ sayin
The topic is not Curtis Loftis: The topic is a $30 million raid on the trust fund. The topic is about somebody pushing a crappy investment and then taking a job with that investee? How much do you suppose that guy is being paid for bringing in the $30 million?
The topic is the honorable C. Melvin Loftis. He “leaked” the story and got it put on the website. Instead of having influence or a bully pulpit he hides behind psedonames on a website. I for one am outraged!
So the problem is that this leaked out? That is a problem, for Reynolds and Harris. I see now why you whine about Curtis: You don’t want anybody turning a light on and exposing these cockroaches.
Whoa Curtis it’s time to take your medicine. Time to bring you back to reality. To a place where people walk the earth. People, not cockroaches. There there, take your meds and stop yelling at inanimate objects and writing on a blog post that you had put up. Most importantly you must remember that no one cares about Chewning. Okay buddy? Deep breaths, in and out.
I agree with you that the members of the board do not care, and they are going to be sued for not caring. This is just one small thing they should have cared about but didn’t. This incident in itself proves they don’t care. The board members are fiduciaries and fiduciaries are personally liable for violations of their fiduciary duty. There are standards for fiduciaries and the Deloitte reports demonstrate gross, long term, and ongoing violations of their fiduciary duties. Even the recent Funston report offers overpowering evidence that the board has violated its fiduciary trust.
Jax Crax. You are very boring… very boring. Curtis Loftis. You have violated your fiduciary duty with your actions with the Bank of NY. And you have entered in a 10 years contract with the same bank that lost 200 millions of the fund. You must be taken off the commission. No if, but, you must go. Enough, is enough. Very stupid and causing so much harm..
Where is Curtis’ degree and qualifications? No qualifications to be treasurer. Couldn’t even make it as a bug man. What a complete and utter failure. I bet his parents are ashamed of him.
The members of the board do care and they will get your stupid ass off the commission. You have failed in your fiduciaries duty as State treasurer and have lost millions from the fund because you do not understand what the bank of NY did when they saw you coming from West Columbia, SC. The Bank of America was fined big times and the Bank Of NY will be too, along with you .
You are quite correct, fiduciaries have responsibilities. One of the first is to objectively assess the situation. Unfortunately, Loftis is burdened with so many personality disorders that his assessment of the situation is terminally abnormal. Get help, Loftis!
Curtis Loftis had just showed up when the major breaches of fiduciary duties were reported, namely in the 2011 and 2012 audits. The audits reported breaches that had taken place before Curtis was elected–like they have a duty to look investigate, or to research the investments and to keep up with them. Deloitte found that they had done very little initial due diligence and no ongoing due diligence. Curtis pointed that out. How can you take up for the cockroaches who took the retirement trust funds out of the Treasurer’s custody and put those funds into the hands of alternative investments that they didn’t even investigate? It’s insane. For you to call Curtis insane–if Curtis is insane, then you are even more insane.
The cockroaches are Curtis Loftis. The bugman of West Columbia. See the link. CurtisLoftis, serbia 2004. James Brown. See The realCurtisloftis.com. Curtis Loftis and his vermin control are exposed for what they are. Curtis Loftis and his charitable foundation are exposed for what they are in 2004 . Same in 2014. Never will he change! A crook then, a crook now. Millions to his friend and 200 millions lost from the retirees fund because he does not understand and he is too stupid to know it. Curtis has lost millions if not billions from the fund because he was and is too stupid to understand his job. He must be removed from the commission.
I love the way you talk!
Someone needs to wash the honorable C. Melvin Loftis’ mouth out with soap. He left the country some worn down BMW he said I stole before I was able to do so.
The topic is Curtis Loftis. Get him off that Commission!
Curtis has already let enough out of the bag that getting rid of Curtis won’t solve Reynolds’ problems. Besides that, he can’t get Curtis off. How many times has he tried? The people and the General Assembly want Curtis on that board.
The money came out of those kid’s 529 college money regardless of the accounting tricks played. Loftis accused his opponent of using that money for political purposes and then turns around and does the same thing. Talk about hypocrisy!
That is pretty simple: They kept certain things secret. They didn’t tell anybody that Reynolds had done the closings. They didn’t tell it that the guy in charge of Timbo was a childhood friend of Reynolds’ law partner. They didn’t tell it that the internal investment committee at the RSIC had voted it down three times, but Reynolds got it put on the agenda anyway.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis is explaining himself anonomously because no one takes him seriously when he uses his real name.
Reynolds Williams is one of my chosen ones as he is a servant of Hugh Leatherman’s, one of my dear benefactors. Nothing will happen to Reynolds. Since I run the legal system, the judicial system and the attorney discipline system as I please and for my benefit and for the benefit of those who please me, I know this to be true.
Curtis – You are now posting as Jim? No one lied to you about this deal. Curtis you need to admit that even though you might be State Treasurer you really did not understand what you were voting for. But, Ed Giobbe did and he voted against it. BTW, your so-called referral to SLED was determined to be groundless.
I don’t think they explained that Reynolds had already done some closing for them or that Harris Chewning, IV, was going to be working at Timbo. They don’t come out in the open and admit what crooks they are any more than a cockroach or a rat likes coming out in the open.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis is the only person that refers to it as Timbo. Jus’ sayin’
There is nothing honorable about that lowlife.
He’s honorable enough that he’s never taken one of his friends up to the investment commission and gotten $30 million for them. That is a lot more honorable than Reynolds Williams.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis may not have gotten $30 million for a friend. He did get over $9 million for 2 campaign donors. Reynolds got $95,000 and the honorable C. Melvin Loftis’s campaign donors got $9 million.
That’s all you can come up with? You can’t defend the lies Reynolds told? You can’t defend the cockroaches any better than that? Does Curtis call them cockroaches too?
They didn’t come out and tell the truth about that investment. They didn’t say, “Reynolds has already done some closings and Harris going to work for them.” They didn’t tell the truth.
Yes daddy, the honorable C. Melvin Loftis calls them cockroaches, sonsabitches, crooks, sinful, corrupt, et al.
Curtis.. Do you like it when you’re called daddy? Yes yes you do.
The term “cockroach” fits well because of the way they scatter whenever the light gets shined on them. Can you think of a term that describes Reynolds that fits better than “cockroach”? If you can come up with a more descriptive term, I will be glad to use your term.
Cockroaches are the only critter than can survive nuclear bombs.
And so you still can’t come up with nothing better to say so you say it again. Come on, you can do better than that. And if you can’t, call Ryberg and ask him for some tips.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis is obsessed with four people: Leatherman, Reynolds Williams, Ryberg and Sam Griswold. They live in his head and make him work so hard to get to the bottom of the never ending rabbit hole.
Every time I read one of your post it makes me feel good because it’s proof for me that this is a good smack down for Reynolds. Reading your posts is like listening to a stuck pig, not any stuck pig, but a pig who deserved to be stuck. The news about Reynolds just keeps coming out, doesn’t it?
Jax Crax= Curtis Loftis. The smack is for you, Curtis. You sure are not smart. You try to cause problems to avoid the problems and accusations against you. But it does not work. How can you work with the commission, with your vile temper, anger beyond control, drunken posts on Fits, the intellect of a roach, sexual vices, impostor .. and I can go on… You must be removed from the commission for the good of the people of SC.
Old man, you are the imposter, squealing like a stuck pig whenever somebody posts in support of Curtis. You are the one with multiple identities on this board. And your desperation is proof to me that you and Reynolds are worried about half to death, aren’t you? You’re scared to death of Curtis Loftis. Old man, I look forward to seeing Curtis step on you.
What is the return on the “Pinkus investment”? Did pincus fucus?
What was Chewning’s title at SCRSIC? Anybody know?
evidently, well paid butt boy to Borden.
hmm… since when were Euros the currency of SC? (see picture) :p
Whoever wrote the ‘M’ for the label on the jar, must enjoy humping.
I spent thirty years in the investment business and I can tell you this place is messed up and has been for years. Loftis has been a bull in the china shop but he is not the problem. There are systemic problems that began at the creation of the Commission in 2006 and are getting worse. There needs to be wholesale change.
I agree there are problems at the Investment Commission that need to be addressed. First, attention needs to paid to the compensation/bonus pay plan for investment staff. It seems to reward group rather than individual performance. Teamwork is fine and needs to be encouraged but consistent individual performance should be a primary criteria. Secondly, the law needs to be changed making the Treasurer a member of the Commission. He has neither the training, background, or temperament to be trusted with my money. He is a bull in a china shop but contrary to your assessment, he is not a positive contributing member.Finally, the Commissioners should be term limited.
Nothing is too dirty for political South Carolina . . . nothing.
This “article” should be renamed the “Weekly Curtis Loftis advertisement”, similar to all TRAV “articles”
Matt, we can tell this one must be a pretty hard punch for Reynolds. Not a one of you has defended Harris or Reynolds on this one. All you can do is whine about Curtis? Why don’t you answer GT’s question?
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the herpes infested bed. The only one whining is the self loathing Curtis Loftis.
Come on, dude. You RSIC supporters have not offered even the slightest defense of Harris and Reynolds: Apparently, you can’t even make up a lie about that. All you can do is whine about Curtis. Don’t you know that is not going to work in the long run? I mean, you just keep getting pounded and you’re gonna keep getting pounded.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis knows a thing or two about getting pounded in a few different ways. Go pound the table to get more money for you campaign donors you pathetic excuse of a man.
Thanks again for showing me the proof that this Harris deal is an incredible blow to the Investment Commission. I knew it was a good punch, but I did not know how good.
You really are a sorry excuse of a man. Sorry for all of us.
Thanks again for showing me the proof that this Harris deal is an incredible blow to the Investment Commission. I knew it was a good punch, but I did not know how good.
It will work in the long run. If people hear how harmful Loftis is day in and day out it eventually becomes fact whether it really is or not. In this case, it really is so let justice be served.
Can RSIC fire American Timber and have someone else manage the properties? This seems like a bad deal that just won’t go away. If RSIC can take American Timber out of the equation, that may make the situation better. This is why the RSIC should never give money to local people. Too many politics!!
The problem is not just Timberlands. The problem is that they are involved in all kinds of questionable deals just like Timberlands, except for hundreds of millions. The retirement trust was turned over to Reynolds Williams with absolutely no accountability until Curtis Loftis started looking into this. Curtis is the only board member outraged by Timberlands and that says we have a big problem, because they should all be outraged about being lied to like that.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis accuses his fellow board members of this regularly. He makes clear he is outraged by something he voted for (and seconded) and then chastises them for not being outraged at his outrage. How outrageous!
You don’t think they should be outraged because they were lied to and voted to let Timbo, Reynolds, and Harris raid the retiree trust fund? Why wouldn’t they get upset at that? I can tell you why: Its just business as usual.
The honorable C. Melvin Loftis is commenting on fits about his outrage. That is business as usual.
I don’t know what Curtis does or doesn’t comment on, but I do know you and Reynolds must be taking this one as a major smack down.
Curt, go take your medication. You are very sick. Jax Crax is Curtis Loftis. LOL.
He is so transparent. Do you suppose he really thinks we don’t know most of these comments are Curtis by pseudonym? That’s pretty sick. The State Treasurer is supposed to be an office of dignity and decorum. He soils it with these practices.
I saw him storming out of the garage earlier this afternoon. He was pissed. Thankfully no one was ran over when he peeled out.
Honorable? Hardly.
If that is the case, then why is it we only hear about Timberlands? You’d think with all of the audits and reviews and other eyes on this group (SLED, Ethics board, the fiduciary audit from the Inspector General), something else would have risen to the surface. But it hasn’t. IMHO – with everything that RSIC has gone through over the last couple years with American Timber, this will be the last shady South Carolina deal that will get done and everything else is going to be highly scrutinized from here on out. As it should be.
Timberlands did not occur in a vacuum. The 2011 and 2012 Deloitte reports make it clear that there are quite a number of very questionable investments. Apparently they passed out money right and left without looking into a lot of things. I don’t know the names, but the Deloitte reports describe a place that is out of control. What could be expected of a place that turned over $26 billion to Reynolds Williams with no oversight, none. I don’t know the names but odds are that Timberlands is not the only damage.
You are making allegations with no facts, names figures or audit references. Why should anybody believe you? At least offer some modicum of proof. Otherwise, this is all just blowhard crap.
OK, here’s an audit reference: “The Commission currently does not maintain initial/on-going due diligence and financial reporting controls to support the valuations of the External Managers.” from page 12 of the Deloitte 2012 report. The values they report come from external managers, like the guys who manage Timberlands. The RSIC has no idea what the value is other than what managers tell them. They have invested billions in so called strategic partnerships and they aren’t keeping up with it. They report the values that managers tell them to report.
That report is over two years old and was done under the reign of Bob Borden. Since Borden’s departure (thank God for that!), the RSIC has made significant improvements to it’s internal controls, reporting, and on-going due diligence. They have software that stores all the critical documents related to each investment, and they are holding each investment to a higher level of scrutiny. Most of Borden’s cronies are gone and many of the people there work very hard, day in and day out, to make sure that the fund is being managed appropriately. Unfortunately, there are a few deals, like American Timber, that continue to hang around. Your comment would have been correct 2+ years ago – thankfully, that’s no longer the case today. Even Curtis recognizes the improvements staff have made to the plan and praised them for it. Also, it should be noted that many of the values that are reported to the staff are supported by appraisals on the property or follow a valuation methodology that is audited by an outside accounting firm. Ultimately, the price at which something is sold is the “true” valuation of the investment, so that will be the deciding factor for American Timber and others.
There is one ameliorative fact about Timberlands: it makes the retirement fund lots of money.
No. No it doesn’t. It’s a $30 million investment in a $30 billion fund. That’s .1% of assets in the plan. Even if American TImber were to provide a 100% return (which it clearly hasn’t), the value added to the total fund would be nothing more than a rounding error. Timberlands is nothing more than a $30 million pain in the ass for the STO, the commission, the staff and the retirees.
It’s a pain in the ass for Curtis because he can’t get any media attention off of his disproven accusations about it.
Check out the county judicial website. Curtis is being used by a former employee for some pretty nefarious treatment. More lawsuits to come?
I think you mean sued..
Darry Oliver??
They need to hire someone that doesn’t have ties to any legislator past or present, Leatherman gave this job to his buddy, and the investment company is raping the retirement account. Bonuses and raises are given if a stock or consultant does well, the bonuses etc should be tied to the overall health of the fund. There was a proposal to tie raises for the recipients on the health of the fund, if the fund didn’t fair well, no raises,etc. The real threat to the fund are the legislators that have special rules for their retirement requirements. The rules are extremely lucrative for legislators and judicial officers.
It sounds to me that BOTH Reynolds and Curtis need to go. Both were able to get money for their friends using the pension fund. Both continue to demonstrate bad judgement. Both continue to cause problems instead of finding solutions. Both need to go!!
Amazingly, Reynolds and his crew liquidated an investment before they should have and the cost is over $18,000 a day to retirees and members of the plan. The funds are to be used to fund another investment, but apparently Reynolds did not have RSIC properly certifiy that the terms of the contract for the investment agreed to the terms that commissioners had agreed to, which meant that the Treasurer and his staff had to do that job. The Treaurer told Reynolds he was not going to be ready to fund the investment on the date Reynolds wanted it funded, but Reynolds liquidated the other investment anyway, probably so he could try to blame the $18,000 a day cost on the Treasurer. This represents another breech of Reynolds fiduciary duties and one more item for which he will be held liable.
Curtis (JaxCrax) please put down the crack pipe. This is so clearly you it is disturbing. Reynolds isn’t the chairman anymore so you never had the conversation you’ve outlined above. You didn’t do your homework on an old investment and now you’re looking for trouble for no reason. Its very sad. You’re not doing your job and it shows. Go back to pest control or whatever it is you do with that associates degree. You’re an embarrassment to your office and to the state.