A former banker and accomplice of Alex Murdaugh has learned his fate after pleading guilty to eight felony charges stemming from financial crimes committed alongside the convicted murderer.
A South Carolina judge sentenced Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, to 13 years in state prison on Monday, according to FOX 57.
The sentence comes after prosecutors said Laffitte exploited his roles as a court-appointed conservator for Murdaugh's personal injury clients and chief of Palmetto State Bank to funnel over $2 million in fraudulent transfers from clients to Murdaugh and himself, the outlet reported. Laffitte would then label the transfers as "loans," while also cashing in on tens of thousands in conservator fees from his victims without providing basic fiduciary services.
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Mugshots for Alex Murdaugh and Russell Laffitte from Wednesday, July 20, 2022. (Richland County Detention Center/Kershaw County Detention Center)
Monday’s sentencing marks the end of a years-long legal battle between Laffitte and his victims, after Laffitte was reportedly the first to face federal charges as investigators looked to take down the Murdaugh empire.
Last month, Laffitte was handed a federal five-year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and misapplying bank funds relating to his business dealings with Murdaugh, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
During his federal trial, Laffitte testified that he simply did what Murdaugh asked of him and was unaware of the disgraced lawyer’s financial schemes.
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Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte walks to the Charleston federal courthouse on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (John Monk/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A federal jury convicted Laffitte of six charges in November 2022, including wire and bank fraud, FOX 57 reported. His conviction was overturned in 2024 after an appeals court determined a juror had been improperly dismissed during deliberations. In April 2025, Laffitte reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors and agreed to pay $3,555,884.80 in restitution to his victims.
Eight years of Lafitte’s state sentence will be served concurrently with the federal sentence, with the remaining five years set to be suspended if the disgraced banker completes five years of probation and 350 hours of community service, according to FOX 57. In addition to serving time behind bars, Laffitte has also been ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution to his victims.
The case stems from three separate grand jury indictments in which Laffitte was accused of conspiracy, computer crimes and breach of trust involving three separate victims. The case also implicated convicted accomplice Cory Fleming.
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Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, sits during a hearing on a motion for a retrial, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C.
Prosecutors reportedly revealed Laffitte’s misappropriation of funds allowed Murdaugh to pay off fraudulent loans and personal debts, further cementing that his assistance was pivotal in allowing Murdaugh to keep his financial crimes in motion over the course of several years.
"Laffitte was responsible for loaning so much money to Murdaugh that Murdaugh became too big to fail," prosecutor Creighton Waters said, according to FOX 57. "Alex was so much in hock to Russell that Russell was in hock to Alex."
Waters did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Murdaugh is currently serving life in prison for the 2021 shotgun murders of his wife and son on the family’s sprawling Lowcountry estate.