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an ex South Carolina A state lawmaker has been indicted on federal charges alleging he conspired to defraud his law clients.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, a Democrat and lawyer, on 10 charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to court papers.
Federal prosecutors said Pendarvis negotiated financial settlements on behalf of his clients between 2022 and 2024, but did not disclose to them that he had received the money. Instead, according to the government, Pendarvis – who at the time served as an MLA representing charleston Area – allegedly pocketed the money themselves, either not telling their customers that the money had been received, or ultimately giving them less money than they had negotiated.
In total, according to prosecutors, Pendarvis deposited more than half a million dollars into his law firm’s trust fund account, of which he paid nothing to clients.
A message left with Pendarvis Wednesday was not immediately returned.
Pendarvis’s law license was suspended last year after a former client accused him of forging her signature to settle a lawsuit without her permission. After this the order issued by the state Supreme Court It did not say why the suspension was recommended, but the former client — whose initials matched those of one of the alleged victims described in Wednesday’s indictment — accused Pendarvis of sending her text messages asking her not to sue him over the alleged fraud.
“Let’s handle this (expletive). No need to try to hurt me. I can help you,” Pendarvis wrote. Lewis In the text messages filed in the state lawsuit, which is still pending.
First elected in a special election in 2017, he won three full terms before resigning from office approximately four months later following the suspension of his law license.
Pendarvis is scheduled to appear in federal court on Nov. 18, according to court records.
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Meg Kinnard can be contacted at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP