Former N. Charleston Rep. Marvin Pendarvis federally indicted on money laundering, wire fraud charges
- SCCLR Newsletter
- Nov 5
- 2 min read
By: Alan Hovorka
A former North Charleston state lawmaker and attorney has been federally indicted in a scheme to defraud clients.
Former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis was indicted Nov. 5 in connection with a series of four allegedly fraudulent settlements he negotiated as part of his law practice.
Pendarvis is charged with four counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and three money laundering-related charges.
The alleged conduct includes negotiating settlements without the clients’ knowledge and receiving settlements without the clients’ knowledge.
He’s also accused of skimming money from lawsuit payouts and then telling clients the other party settled for less than actually received, according to the indictment.
In total, he’s accused of depositing $532,000 into his firm’s IOLTA Pinnacle Bank account — money that never made its way to clients. The indictment outlines four specific instances of alleged fraud totaling $235,000 from four different clients, according to the grand jury indictment.
Pendarvis, a Democrat, resigned from the S.C. House of Representatives in September 2024. He had first been elected in 2016 at the age of 27.
Pendarvis and his civil attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment Nov. 5.
The first alleged fraudulent transaction occurred on June 8, 2023, when he deposited a $100,000 check from Progressive Northern Insurance Company into an account held in the name of an LLC for his firm. Another three checks from three separate insurance or claims management companies were deposited into his firm’s account from Feb. 1, 2024, to March 13, 2024.
The indictment also flags two wire payments of $50,000 and $25,000 to a person named B.B. on June, 9, 2023, and June 16, 2023, respectively, in connection with money laundering activity.
He also transferred $60,000 into B.B.’s account on Aug. 10, 2023.
His departure from the Statehouse came after a former client sued him in April 2024 for legal malpractice. Adrian Lewis accused Pendarvis of forging the signature of a client on a $10,000 settlement with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
Pendarvis also was accused of trying to buy Lewis’ silence using $75,000 in cash sourced from a client trust account in addition to a check large enough to pay for the man’s mortgage.
Pendarvis, a civil rights activist, had been representing Lewis following an alleged illegal arrest.
The State Law Enforcement Division launched an investigation the day after the suit’s filing in Charleston County. Republican First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who was a Democrat at the time, initially asked for SLED’s involvement.
Former South Carolina Chief Justice Donald Beatty had temporarily suspended Pendarvis’ law license in response to the legal malpractice lawsuit.
