Horry County chairman’s former employee defrauded heirs of $1.2 million, lawsuit says
A former campaign manager and longtime associate of Horry County’s chairman was arrested last year on fraud charges, and now both men are facing civil allegations over missing assets totaling more than $1.2 million.
Luke Barefoot was the personal representative of the estate of Benjamin Creel — who died in a 2016 car wreck — and used that position to deprive Creel’s heirs of those funds, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by some of those heirs.
Barefoot was employed at the time by Johnny Gardner and his law firm, who knew or should have known that those funds were being “systematically diverted” to various entities benefiting Barefoot and Gardner, the complaint states.
Gardner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. Barefoot also did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his criminal defense attorney.
Barefoot was arrested and charged last July by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division with two counts of breach of trust with fraudulent Intent for the value of $10,000 or more in relation to the funds allegedly stolen from Creel’s estate. Gardner faces no such criminal charges.
Warrants state Barefoot stole nearly a half million dollars from the estate, which he managed until early 2020. The difference between the figures in the criminal and civil complaints comes down to a difference in the level of evidence needed to prove criminal charges, according to Robert Kittle, a spokesman for the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case.
Barefoot remains on home detention with the criminal cases pending, according to his attorney Kirk Truslow, who specified that he’s only representing Barefoot as it relates to the criminal charges, and he hadn’t seen the civil allegations yet.
Creel’s last will and testament, which is attached to the case, describes Barefoot as a friend in appointing him as co-personal representative and co-trustee of his estate.
Barefoot’s fraudulent transactions were funneled through various accounts at Anderson Brothers State Bank, which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The bank aided in the fraud by failing to properly supervise the transfer of these funds and not requiring proper documentation, the plaintiffs allege.
A voicemail left for an Anderson Brothers Bank spokesperson seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Barefoot admitted the “essential allegations of this complaint” in statements made to SLED officials and representatives of Brittain Law Firm, which is representing the plaintiffs, according to the suit.
Barefoot and Gardner were previously investigated by SLED in 2018 for allegations of extortion, which both denied doing. Gardner eventually admitted to six violations of state ethics rules from his 2018 campaign and paid a fine.
