A new estate fraud case is center-stage in South Carolina’s courts. The Palmetto state has been a hotbed of probate, trust and conservator fraud cases dating back more than half a decade: In March 2023, attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son. But years before the high-profile attorney was tried for murder, Murdaugh was tied to the disappearance of $4.2 million of his client’s insurance money, of which he was a trustee. Months before the Murdaugh trial, Russell Laffitte, the CEO of Palmetto State Bank, was convicted of fraud in federal court for using the money of his trust clients to make loans that were hidden from and did not benefit his trust clients.