S.C. Treasurer rejects calls to resign after senate finance report on $1.8B error
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The state treasurer of South Carolina rejected calls for his removal by the Senate Finance Constitutional Subcommittee investigating a $1.8 billion ing error Tuesday.
Treasurer Curtis Loftis accused Sen. Larry Grooms and his fellow senators of continuing their attack against him through “countless false allegations.”
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Grooms, R - Berkeley, serves as the chairman of the subcommittee.
“Because they operate under the protection of legislative immunity, there is little I can do to put an end to their baseless attacks,” Loftis said. “However, I will continue to respond with the truth, and trust that any objective person will see their accusations for what they are: politically motivated grandstanding.”
The statement came after the release of the subcommittee’s final report on the ing mystery and its recommendations.
The scathing 49-page report concluded that the “level of ineptitude which has imbued this treasurer’s time in office is not worthy of the citizens of our state, and his volatile temperament and angry demeanor degrade those who are charged to work with him to secure the financial standing of South Carolina.”
“He has made perfectly clear that he cannot and will not collaborate on the directed actions suggested by multiple neutral experts who have reviewed this calamity through an apolitical lens,” the report stated. “It is the strong recommendation of the subcommittee that we do not consign the ongoing fiscal oversight – the banking and investment functions of our state - to continued incompetence. In sum: if the treasurer cannot keep track of the treasury, then he should not remain treasurer.”
The report also recommended following the recommendations of AlixPartners, the independent auditor called in to investigate the error, as well as study and review of the State Treasurer’s Office.
The subcommittee spent over a year investigating what was initially believed to be a $1.8 billion surplus that was sitting untouched in state s with no known owner. But a months-long independent audit determined that money did not exist and was the result of an ing error.
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The report found the treasurer’s office, comptroller general’s office, and state auditor’s office all knew about the error, which was made nearly a decade ago when the state converted from one ing system to another. But no one told lawmakers about it until late 2022, and the error remains on the state’s books.
The South Carolina Democratic Party also called for Loftis’ resignation in a statement late Tuesday afternoon, claiming the report revealed “deeply troubling allegations” about Loftis’ conduct in the ing error.
“The people of South Carolina deserve honest leadership and transparency from their elected officials,” South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain said. “These findings are disturbing and incompatible with the integrity we expect from someone holding statewide office. Treasurer Loftis must finally put South Carolinians first and resign.”
Loftis said voters elected him in four statewide elections and that he answers to them, not “the entrenched politicians in the State Senate.”
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“Today’s report isn’t about ability—it’s a power grab. These elected officials don’t want an elected state treasurer; they want an appointed one so they can control billions of public dollars for their own special interests. My focus is protecting the hard-working taxpayers, not the interests of the political elite,” Loftis said.
“South Carolina’s financial threat isn’t from mismanagement or missing money. The real danger comes from a relentless, politically motivated attack on my office—one that risks undermining our state’s financial reputation, increasing taxpayer costs, and stripping voters of their right to elect a Treasurer who works for the people, not special interests,” he said.
Loftis stressed that there was “no mysterious bank , no missing money, no stolen money, and no taxpayer funds were lost.”
“At no point did this ing error affect the Treasurer’s actual bank balances,” he said. “South Carolinians can rest assured that their money is safe and secure.”
He also said the state remains under a Securities Exchange Commission investigation and he looks forward to cooperating fully with that.
Read the full report here:
Former State Auditor George Kennedy and former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, who were in their respective positions at the time of the error, have both resigned. Eckstrom stepped down in 2023 after pressure from state lawmakers investigating a related financial discrepancy and Kennedy resigned days after the release of the January report, leaving Loftis as the only key figure who remains in office.
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