By Scott Grooms
Convicted Alex Murdaugh conspirator Russell Laffitte has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for his own financial crimes. He helped Murdaugh commit steal millions of dollars from clients and his former law firm.
Laffitte will pay over $3.5 million in restitution.
Judge Richard Gergel sentenced Laffitte at Charleston’s federal courthouse, August 1, 2023.
During the hearing, attorneys for both sides delivered their arguments, nine people spoke on Laffitte’s behalf.
Gergel said the defendant was an integral part of the nearly decade-long scheme to defraud clients.
Judge Richard Gergel denied each and every objection Laffitte’s attorneys made as they tried to reduce what crimes he’d be sentenced. Gergel called it one of the most complex criminal operations he has ever seen. The judge at one point said, “there’s no doubt these financial crimes wouldn’t have happened without Alex Murdaugh, but they also could not have happened without Russell Laffitte”.
Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank was found guilty by a jury in November of last year on six counts of federal financial crimes.
Laffitte had been named Conservator-In-Charge of handling assets from settlements Murdaugh had won for clients, but he mishandled those funds.
These victims, were treated like “players on a chess board,” the judge was quoted as saying.
One of the victims who spoke during the hearing was Alaina Plyler, who said she looked up to Laffitte as a father figure before money from the family’s conservatorship was stolen.
Plyler’s attorney Eric Bland said Laffitte took advantage of the Plyler sisters and jeopardized the banking system.
Gergel called it one of the most complex criminal operations he has ever seen.
“Russell Laffitte is a man of extraordinary privilege, and I think we see people like that in communities all across South Carolina,” she said. “Our office and the FBI and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division have expended incredible resources to go after this one individual. And we hope it sends a message that we’ll do the same for any other individuals who are in positions of trust like Russell Laffitte, that we’ll do whatever it takes to bring justice.”
The mother of another one of Laffitte’s victims, Pamela Pinckney, addressed the defendant, saying, “I will forgive you, but I will never forget you.”
The mother of another one of Laffitte’s victims, Pamela Pinckney, addressed the defendant, saying, “I will forgive you, but I will never forget you.”
Gergel said he needed to weigh several factors before imposing a sentence, including a need to deter others from committing the same crimes.
For More Information: hamptoncountysc.org/Clerk-of-Court
