SLED investigating SC legislator at solicitor’s request

COLUMBIA — The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating a South Carolina legislator after a lawsuit claims he settled a former client’s lawsuit without permission for $10,000 and didn’t tell him.

“At the request of 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, SLED is investigating,” Renee Wunderlich, director of public information for SLED, said Friday.

Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-North Charleston, again declined to comment to the SC Daily Gazette on the latest news from the lawsuit.

“I’ve worked with SLED on many investigations,” Pascoe, the Democrat who prosecuted a yearslong Statehouse corruption probe, wrote in a statement to the SC Daily Gazette. “I am confident their investigation will be thorough and lead to the truth. Other than that, I have no comment.”

Lawsuit accuses SC legislator of misleading former client, forging legal documents

Confirmation of a state investigation comes a day after a former Pendarvis client, Adrian Lewis, sued the legislator-lawyer.

Pendarvis, who was first elected in a 2017 special election, is running with no opposition this year.

Lewis’ lawsuit against Pendarvis stems from a lawsuit initially filed in 2021 against the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office for unlawful arrest and other complaints, which the sheriff’s office denied. Pendarvis began representing Lewis in the case in late 2022.

Lewis alleges that Pendarvis settled the case without his knowledge, forging Lewis’ signature, and then tried to buy Lewis off.

According to the lawsuit, Lewis received a pair of checks — one for $5,000 in December 2023 and another for $1,666.67 in March 2024 — with no explanation from Pendarvis, with the promise that he “had a lot more money coming.” The checks were simply marked “disbursement,” the lawsuit reads.

After Lewis realized Pendarvis had settled the case, the lawsuit alleges, Pendarvis showed up at Lewis’ house on April 2 with a bag he said contained $50,000 in cash.

On another occasion, Pendarvis offered to pay Lewis’ mortgage if Lewis agreed not to sue. Then, Pendarvis gave Lewis another check for $15,000, according to the lawsuit.

Pascoe is the chief prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester, and Orangeburg counties. While Lewis lives in Dorchester County, his attorneys filed the lawsuit in Charleston County, where Pendarvis lives.

In 2014, Pascoe was tapped as special prosecutor to investigate corruption at the Statehouse. Ultimately, six GOP legislators were indicted, though only one went to prison. Others resigned as part of plea deals, received probation and paid fines.

SC Daily Gazette senior reporter Jessica Holdman contributed to this story.