An outside forensic audit released Wednesday details the mysterious $1.8 billion fund in the South Carolina treasury, calling it an accounting error.
South Carolina Public Radio reports the firm that did the audit, Washington DC-based AlixPartners LLC, says in its 69-page report that at least $1.6 billion of that money is not real cash.
The saga dates back to when then-Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, the state's accountant, issued a correction to the state's 2022 annual financial report that the state did not have the amount of cash previously reported. It was off by $3.5 billion.
Lawmakers began investigating how this happened and finger-pointing between the Comptroller General and State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, the state's banker. As the Senate seemed poised to begin impeachment proceedings against Eckstrom, he resigned. Some are now calling on Loftis to step down.
