A former chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party is accused of stealing more than $61,000 from the organization.
On Friday, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Department announced it had filed charges against 42-year-old Craig Caldwell with two counts of breach of trust with intent to defraud (value $10,000 or more) after being asked by the party to investigate.
“Caldwell intentionally and unlawfully took $61,591.00 from the Lexington County Republican Party bank account in Lexington County, South Carolina during his tenure as Chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party from 2016 through April 2023,” an arrest warrant filed states. “The funds were transferred by Caldwell to his personal bank account. There were a total of 147 transfers from 2018 through 2023. Caldwell also admitted to covering up these transfers by falsifying the monthly treasurer reports to present to other members of the party.”
Neither Caldwell nor the party could immediately be reached for comment.
Caldwell was removed as party leader in 2023.
He is also accused of stealing more than $52,000 from the Lexington County Rotary Foundation.
“Caldwell wrote himself 11 checks from the foundation account while serving as treasurer of the Lexington Rotary Club Foundation. Caldwell attempted to conceal the withdrawals from other board members by failing to enter the checks into their accounting software,” an arrest warrant filed states.
This story will continue to be updated.
