CHARLESTON (WCIV) — The clock is now ticking for convicted fraudster and Alex Murdaugh co-conspirator Russell Laffitte to begin his federal prison sentence, even as Laffitte’s attorneys lobby to keep him free on bond until his pending appeal is decided.
Laffitte’s attorneys on August 18 told the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals their client was ordered to report to prison on or before September 21 to begin his seven-year sentence. That date reflects a one-week extension agreed to by the government and approved by U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel.
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Emily Limehouse, lead prosecutor in each of the federal fraud conspiracy cases involving Alex Murdaugh and his cohorts, confirms the U.S. Attorney’s Office consented to the extra week at Laffitte’s attorneys’ request. The original date had been September 14. Judge Gergel approved Laffitte’s motion for an extension on Monday.
Allowing Laffitte to push back the date a week was a courtesy the prosecution agreed to in return for Laffitte’s attorneys not forcing the issue on a deadline the government would’ve had trouble meeting, court filings show.
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When Laffitte’s team filed its August 14 motion for him to remain free on bond during his appeal, the government’s deadline to respond was initially set for Tuesday, August 22. Limehouse on August 17 asked for a three-day extension of the deadline.
Laffitte’s camp agreed to the extension, with a new deadline requested for Friday, August 25. The Fourth Circuit hasn’t yet approved the deadline change, but Judge Gergel OK’ing the delay of Laffitte’s start day would appear to clear the way for the appellate panel to grant the motion.
Limehouse’s request for the extension was necessary because an official transcript of Laffitte’s sentencing hearing hadn’t yet been made available as of late last week. The transcript, upon which the government will rely in part to shape its response to Laffitte, wasn’t filed until Friday, August 18 — a day after Limehouse’s extension request.
Laffitte’s attorneys have asked the Fourth Circuit judges to let him remain free on preexisting bond conditions set by the U.S. District Court throughout the adjudication process of his appeal. Laffitte’s lawyers argue he’s eligible for continued bond because he’s neither a flight risk nor a threat to the public, and because attorneys believe he has a strong chance of having his conviction overturned.
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Federal courts generally allow for convicted defendants to remain out of prison while their cases are being appealed as long as the above criteria are met. However, the courts frown upon frivolous efforts to stall or delay justice and may order such defendants who try to abuse the appeal process to enter prison even if they’re not considered a threat to the public.
Limehouse is expected to argue against Laffitte’s request for indefinite bond, but Laffitte’s attorneys already have announced their intent to file a response to her arguments, and also say they “reserve the right to request further extensions of Laffitte’s reporting deadline” as they expect even more filings related to the motion for bond.
According to Laffitte’s team, Judge Gergel erred by not declaring a hung jury and restarting Laffitte’s trial when the court encountered issues with two jurors during Laffitte’s trial last year. Gergel instead opted to remove the two jurors and replace them with alternates who’d been held in reserve in case of problems arising.
Gergel denied two retrial requests from Laffitte’s team on similar grounds following his November 2022 conviction on charges of bank and wire fraud conspiracy and misappropriation of bank funds. On August 1, Gergel sentenced Laffitte to seven years in prison followed by probation and $3.55 million in restitution.
Prosecutors showed at trial Laffitte played a central role in schemes with Murdaugh that saw the men take secret, sweetheart loans from an injured child’s trust fund, then help steal from several other of Murdaugh’s personal injury clients to repay what they’d taken from the girl instead of repaying their debts legitimately.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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