The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on Friday, charged Craig Thomas Caldwell, 42, with two counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, value of $10,000 or more.

Caldwell held the position of chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party from 2016 until April 2023. The charges came after an investigation request was made to SLED by the Lexington County Republican Party.

SLED published an arrest warrant stating that Caldwell took $61,591 from the Lexington County Republican Party bank account while serving as chairman. Caldwell transferred the money into his personal bank account, according to SLED.

After the charges were made, current Lexington County GOP Chairman Mark Weber released the following statement: “The Lexington County Republican Party believes we should receive the funds identified by SLED and we should be made whole,” Weber said. “We have no opinion in the matter of pursuing criminal charges and would defer to the Solicitor’s office. Caldwell has not attended our party functions since he was replaced as chairman in April 2023.”

A SLED arrest warrant also stated Caldwell also took $52,300 from the Lexington Rotary Club Foundation between May 16, 2023 and March 23, 2024. He allegedly wrote 11 checks to himself from a Rotary account while he was the organization’s treasurer.

Caldwell enacted 147 transfers from 2018 until 2023, according to the SLED warrant. Caldwell admitted to covering up the transfers by falsifying monthly treasurer’s reports to submit to the other members of the party, according to SLED.