|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Former Palmetto State Bank (PSB) chief executive officer Russell Laffitte has pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the ‘Murdaugh Murders‘ crime and corruption saga. The disgraced ex-banker will appear before U.S. district court judge Richard Gergel this Friday (April 18, 2025) in Charleston, S.C. to formally enter his plea.
In court documents filed on Monday (April 14, 2025), Laffitte, 54, of Hampton, S.C., agreed to plead guilty to six counts: conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and misapplying bank funds (three counts). He also agreed to pay $3.55 million in restitution for his crimes.
Laffitte further agreed to waive “the right to contest either the conviction or the sentence in any direct appeal or other post-conviction action.” In exchange, prosecutors agreed not to “file any additional charges” against him – including charges for “perjury or making a false statement.”
How much time is Laffitte expected to serve as a result of his deal with federal prosecutors?
***
RELATED | MURDAUGH SAGA: LOOSE ENDS
***
While that decision is ultimately up to the court, Laffitte’s lawyers and U.S. attorneys led by Emily Limehouse agreed the “appropriate disposition” of the case would be a sentence of five (5) years “followed by the appropriate statutory term of supervised release.” Should Laffitte fail to honor the terms of the agreement, though, the government would “seek the maximum sentence allowed by law” against him – or decades behind bars.
Laffitte was found guilty in November of 2022 of the aforementioned six charges related to his role in the financial crimes of convicted killer/confessed fraudster Alex Murdaugh. However, the U.S. fourth circuit court of appeals vacated those verdicts last November based on judicial error related to a questionable eleventh hour jury reshuffling initiated by Gergel.
According to the court, this reshuffling “violated Laffitte’s right to an impartial jury.”
FITSNews addressed the Laffitte jury drama extensively in our coverage of the verdicts – raising questions about Gergel’s action at the time. Days after the trial, the court issued a transcript (.pdf) from the chaotic proceedings which raised additional questions.
***
Prior to the verdicts being tossed, Laffitte had begun serving his seven-year sentence at Federal Correctional Complex Coleman (FCC Coleman) in central Florida. He was released from prison following the appeals court ruling and was granted bond as he awaited a retrial which had been scheduled for May 5, 2025.
In addition to his upcoming federal proceedings, Laffitte is slated for prosecution this fall by the state of South Carolina. Prosecutors in the office of S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson are poised to try Laffitte in Allendale, S.C. for two weeks in October 2025 for the alleged misappropriation of more than a million dollars in bank funds.
Laffitte and Murdaugh were accused of stealing bank funds in order to cover a shortfall produced by an earlier alleged misappropriation involving a trustee for whom Laffitte served as a fiduciary.
Murdaugh pled guilty to his role in the Allendale scheme in November 2023, negotiating a 27-year sentence to resolve all 22 of the state financial charges brought against him.
It is not immediately clear whether the state plans to proceed with its charges against Laffitte now that the feds have entered into an agreement that puts him behind bars for an extended period of time.
***
RELATED | LAFFITTE’S LAWYERS GO ON THE OFFENSIVE
***
Per the terms of the federal agreement, Laffitte “agrees and consents” to the forfeiture of specific assets and pledged “to assist the United States in the recovery of all assets.” Should the government discover Laffitte failed to fully disclose all of his assets, the deal required him to agree to their “immediate forfeiture.”
Laffitte further agreed to submit to “a polygraph examination on the issue of assets if it is deemed necessary.”
Missing assets have been a source of persistent speculation in connection with the Murdaugh saga, with many believing millions of dollars tied to the various schemes have been hidden offshore.
***
THE PLEA…
(U.S. District Court)
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
1 comment
Nice of him to save us the cost of a trial, well this time…
If he had just plead guilty to begin with and offered a little information about the guy who “shitted him up”, he’d probably already be a free man.