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Emily Limehouse, assistant U.S. lawyer, speaks with the media exterior the J. Waties Waring Judicial Heart, after the previous Palmetto State Financial institution CEO Russell Laffitte was discovered responsible in Charleston, South Carolina, on Nov. 22, 2022, on six federal fees associated to allegedly serving to disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh steal from shoppers. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Publish And Courier through AP)
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A banker charged with serving to disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh take cash from the authorized settlements of shoppers was discovered responsible late Tuesday of wire and financial institution fraud fees in South Carolina.
Former Palmetto State Financial institution CEO Russell Laffitte was allowed to stay free on bail as he awaits sentencing at a later date. Every of the six fees he was convicted of in federal court docket carry a most sentence of as much as 30 years in jail.
It was the primary trial associated to the sprawling Murdaugh authorized drama that has captivated true-crime audiences.
Murdaugh is charged with killing his spouse and son and his homicide trial is about to start out in January. He additionally faces practically 100 different fees starting from cash laundering to drug offenses to stealing from shoppers and attempting to rearrange his personal dying to get his surviving son a $10 million life insurance coverage profit.
And whereas Murdaugh, 54, wasn’t within the federal courthouse in Charleston, he loomed over Laffitte’s trial.
Laffitte, 51, didn’t deny that his dealing with of Murdaugh’s funds helped the lawyer steal from shoppers, however testified in his personal protection throughout his federal trial that he was duped, in line with information retailers.
When a prosecutor requested Laffitte if he stole, he answered “I did, however completely not deliberately.”
Prosecutors needed to show Laffitte willfully participated within the fraud to convict him.
Prosecutors mentioned Laffitte knew what he was doing when he successfully labored as Murdaugh’s private banker and ultimately grew to become the court-appointed custodian for the settlement cash for a number of of his underage shoppers.
Laffitte loaned Murdaugh and himself cash from these settlements, diverting that cash from private harm or dying circumstances.
Murdaugh had a plan to steal the cash, however wanted somebody organized and detail-oriented to forestall him from being simply caught, prosecutor Emily Limehouse mentioned in her closing assertion.
“None of this may have occurred with out Alex Murdaugh, however none of it may have occurred with out the defendant,” Limehouse mentioned.
Each by way of Laffitte’s testimony and different witnesses, protection attorneys tried to point out the banker was simply attempting to observe the directions of one in every of his largest shoppers and was lied to and manipulated.
“He admits to doing all of it,” protection lawyer Matt Austin mentioned in his closing assertion. “He simply doesn’t assume he was committing a criminal offense.”
However prosecutors identified that Murdaugh was giving Laffitte checks written to the financial institution as a substitute of to the shoppers, which allowed the lawyer to divert the money to individuals he owed cash to, whether or not or not it’s his legislation agency he was stealing cash from, different shoppers he had already stolen cash from or members of the family.
That additionally allowed Laffitte to keep away from paying taxes.
Laffitte was convicted on one rely every of financial institution fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, plus three counts of misapplication of financial institution funds. He additionally faces 21 counts of monetary crimes in state court docket.
Murdaugh was disbarred and Laffitte was fired final yr.
The Murdaugh homicide case even made an look Laffitte’s trial. Murdaugh’s spouse Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, had been shot to dying with completely different weapons on June 7, 2021, exterior a household dwelling in Colleton County.
An worker at Laffitte’s financial institution testified she confronted Murdaugh about lacking charges from one in every of his circumstances hours earlier than the killings. Neither prosecutors in Laffitte’s, nor the investigators within the killings, have talked about whether or not they see a hyperlink between the occasions.
Each Murdaugh and Laffitte are from tiny Hampton County. Murdaugh’s household legislation agency dominated the authorized group and his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had been the world’s elected prosecutors for 87 years straight.
Laffitte’s household constructed Palmetto State Financial institution, incomes a sterling fame that led to honors like being named banker of the yr by the Impartial Banks of South Carolina in 2019.
And, as in lots of small cities, their households intertwined. The legislation agency worker who confronted Murdaugh concerning the lacking cash the day his spouse and son died was Jeanne Seckinger, Laffitte’s sister-in-law.
Greater than a 3rd of the witnesses in Laffitte’s trial had been his kinfolk, with most of them testifying for prosecutors.
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