A former South Carolina state lawmaker has been indicted on federal allegations that he planned to defraud his legal clients.
According to court papers, a federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, a Democrat and attorney, on 10 counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
Between 2022 and 2024, Pendarvis negotiated financial settlements on behalf of his clients, but did not tell them he received the money, federal prosecutors said. Instead, according to the government, Pendarvis — who at the time was working as a lawmaker representing the Charleston area — allegedly took the money himself, either without telling his clients that the money had been taken, or ultimately giving them less than he bargained for.
In all, according to prosecutors, Pendarvis deposited more than half a million dollars into his law firm’s trust fund account, from which he paid nothing to clients.
A message left Wednesday with Pendarvis was not immediately responded to.
Pendarvis Law license suspended Last year after a former client accused him of forging his signature to reach a settlement in a lawsuit without his permission. The state Supreme Court’s subsequent order did not explain why the suspension was recommended, but the former agent — whose initials matched one of the alleged victims detailed in Wednesday’s indictment — accused Pendarvis of sending him text messages asking him not to file a lawsuit over the alleged fraud.
“Let’s deal with this (expletive). No need to try to hurt me, man. I can help you,” Pendarvis wrote to Lewis in text messages filed with the lawsuit that is still pending.
He was first elected in a special election in 2017, winning three full terms before resigning from office about four months later after his law license was suspended.
According to court records, Pendarvis is scheduled to appear in federal court on November 18.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP