South Carolina
Continuing guesswork about the billions found by chance in a US government account
Unexpected windfall in South Carolina: a whopping $1.8 billion suddenly appeared
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$1.8 billion is discovered in an account in South Carolina. Nobody knows where they come from. A test is supposed to clarify things, but it just makes everything more confusing.
The state Senate scheduled a hearing on the issue and invited State Treasurer – comparable to the position of a state-level finance minister in Germany – Curtis M. Loftis Jr. to provide clarification. “You cannot imagine the work we have done; it was passed on to us because another agency failed,” the New York Times (NYT) quotes Loftis’ statement. In other words, the tax authorities are not responsible for the ambiguities.
Committee in South Carolina seeks clarification
However, the committee chairman, Lawrence K. Grooms, is not satisfied with this. “Mr Loftis has his responsibilities […] disputed,” he summarizes in the committee and adds in an interview the following day, from which the “NYT” quotes: “Every state treasurer for 80 years or longer has been able to balance the coffers …”
The committee also did not give a 100 percent answer to the question of whether the money was actually available. Sen. Tom Young Jr. asked Loftis about the $1.8 billion, “Is your office sure it exists?” Loftis’ response: “We believe it does.” Grooms jumps him on this one case at least partially and states: “We believe that it is real money, but we have not been able to prove that it is real money.” So it is no longer just unclear where the money comes from. It is also unclear whether it actually exists.
Another aspect that could be related to the discovery of money dates back to 2023, as the AP news agency reports. The auditor in charge, Richard Eckstrom, had to resign after it became known that a software error was responsible for the double booking of some state funds and it had to be admitted that South Carolina had $3.5 billion (around €3.2 billion) less than expected. The supposed current surplus of 1.8 billion dollars could therefore again be the result of technical difficulties in financial accounting from the past. If that were the case, there would currently be nothing to distribute, but the responsibility could be shifted either to the software or to the corner power, who is no longer responsible.
In any case, it can be considered certain that the discussion about the apparent lucky find will continue. State Treasurer Loftis’ words in the committee: “If I don’t misjudge this, it’s far from over.”
Sources: “NYT” (paid content), “Mirror”, AP