E. Scott Trotter, 68, was charged with “grand larceny” after three members of the Litchfield Plantation Association board said he assigned promissory notes and mortgages from the association to his own company, according to the report. Trotter made the assignment as president of the association, but the board members – Robert McMahan, Carol Kirby and Joe Johnston – said he was “relieved of his duties” as president in February.
The S.C. Secretary of State’s office shows Trotter is still the registered agent for the association. The agency’s records show there was no agent from June 2009 until Trotter was added on Feb. 22, 2011.
In April, Trotter assigned the notes and mortgages from the Litchfield Plantation Association to the Litchfield Plantation Buyout Group, of which he is also the registered agent. The association held three notes to the Litchfield Plantation Co., the original developer of the property. (Trotter was also registered agent for the development company until May 23, records show.) A $1.5 million note was made in 2005. All but $281,881 was repaid when the Litchfield Plantation stables were sold to Georgetown County for a park in 2009.
The maturity on the note was extended until 2014, according to documents on file with the county Register of Deeds. A second note was made for $570,000, also due in 2014. The balance on both notes, $851,881, was secured with a mortgage on 39.5 acres within the plantation that was proposed for single-family development.
The third note from the association is for $75,000, and secured by a mortgage on the same tract.
After Trotter assigned the notes from the association to his buyout group, he recorded a memorandum in the courthouse on June 24 providing “constructive notice” of the assignment. The association board members went to the sheriff’s office three days later, saying Trotter was not authorized to make the assignments.