Murdaugh co-conspirator Russell Laffitte back in court for plea deal

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Russell Laffitte — the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank who pleaded guilty to helping convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh commit fraud against his own clients — was back in court.54-year old Laffitte appeared before Judge Heath Taylor Thursday afternoon in the Richland County Courthouse.

“You understand the nature of the charges and the consequences of a guilty plea — how do you plea today? Judge Taylor asks Laffitte. “Guilty,” Laffitte responds.  “To all eight charges?” asks the judge. “I do,” responds Laffitte.

Laffitte is the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank in Hampton, SC — where Murdaugh served as a personal injury attorney.

Laffitte pleaded guilty to all eight charges that according to prosecutors include multiple counts of criminal conspiracies, wire and bank fraud, and breaches of trust.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters described some of Laffitte’s actions to Judge Taylor that included funneling funds to Laffitte’s personal accounts.

“From July 2011 through December 2013, Mr. Laffitte loaned himself $340,000 out of the accounts,” says Waters, who also described Laffitte’s funnelling funds to Alex Murdaugh, saying, “This was the first main way that Alex Murdaugh was able to steal money from his clients and he depended on Russell to do it. Because the second he could get a check cut from the law firm trust account made out to Palmetto State Bank and give it to Russell Laffitte, and then Russell Laffitte would do whatever he needed to be done to convert that for Alex’s benefit.”

As part of the expected plea deal, Laffitte’s state and federal sentences of eight and five years respectively, will run concurrently. Because Laffitte has already served over three years on house arrest and some time in prison, attorneys say he could be out of prison by the summer of 2027.

Waters telling ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams and other media members after the hearing that the victims in the crimes are in agreement with the potential sentencing.

Laffitte will be officially sentenced on October 13th at 10 a.m. He will also have to serve 350 hours of community service and be permanently stripped of his licenses by the FDIC, effectively keeping him from ever working in the banking industry again.

Laffitte is scheduled to appear again in court this Monday, September 29th for a hearing on his federal charges.

Murdaugh is currently serving two life sentences for the murder of his wife Maggie and his son Paul.