South Carolina Investigating Mysterious $1.8 Million And Where It Came From
Why is this a problem I’ve never had? South Carolina is investigating where a mysterious sum of money came from that was discovered in the state’s bank accounts. On Tuesday a report was released by the Constitutional Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee. The report was titled “INTERIM REPORT OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE $1.8 BILLION DISCREPANCY IN TREASURY BALANCES AND CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS”.
South Carolina Investigating Mysterious Money
According to the report the money was first discovered last year and began being formally investigated at the end of October. They describe the inquiry as a “months-long Senate investigation that continues to expose financial irregularities and other deeply troubling activities within the Office of State Treasurer.”
The almost $2 million was discovered in an account named Fund 30350993. A comptroller discovered the money and alerted other government officials known of who were aware of the origins of the account or money contained in it.
South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis is also at the center of this investigation. He sat down for questioning earlier this month but that hearing still left unanswered questions. As a result of the ongoing mystery of the funds Governor McMaster established a task force and tasked it with determining rightful ownership of monies in Fund 30350993.
Released as part of the report the initial committee determined the following findings which they describe as “interim findings”
1. $1.8 billion in unresolved differences arose in connection with the conversion by the Office of State Treasurer from the legacy STARS7 to the SCEIS system, and have existed in a State Treasury fund without identification of agency claim and ownership since 2016.
2. Treasurer Curtis Loftis exhibited a lack of response and control of the fund holding $1.8 billion fund.
3. Treasurer Loftis failed to disclose the existence of the $1.8 billion fund to the General Assembly and to the people of South Carolina over the last seven years, despite his explicit statutory duty to do so.
4. Treasurer Loftis claimed during sworn testimony on April 2, 2024, that the $1.8 billion fund has earned $225 million in interest that has been spent by the General Assembly. If his claim is accurate, then his failure to disclose the fund may have impaired the General Assembly’s fiduciary responsibility to ensure proper
application of the earnings.5. Treasurer Loftis was reckless in planning to release on the internet highly sensitive financial information of the State.
They also recommended the next course of action. Many state officials are in favor of returning it to the taxpayers. Is it too late to relocate across the border? Asking for a friend. You can read the full report of the South Carolina investigating mysterious money here.
