(A) Upon filing an action pursuant to § 17-25-530, the eligible person shall give notice to the office by delivering or mailing a copy of the complaint. The eligible person may, prior to filing the action, notify the office of his intent to file an action in order to allow the office to apply for other appropriate remedies which are authorized prior to the commencement of an action.

(B) The office may act on behalf of all eligible persons and may apply for any remedies available to an eligible person bringing an action under § 17-25-530. These remedies include the right of attachment, injunction, receivership, and notice of pendency. On the motion for a particular remedy, the moving party shall state whether any other remedy has been sought in the same action against the same offender. The court may require the moving party to elect its remedy.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 17-25-540

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Eligible person: means :

    (a) a victim of the particular crime in question who has suffered direct or threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result of the commission of the particular crime;

    (b) a victim's spouse;

    (c) a victim's parent;

    (d) a victim's child;

    (e) a spouse, parent, child, or lawful representative of a victim who is:

    (i) deceased;

    (ii) a minor;

    (iii) incompetent; or

    (iv) physically or psychologically incapacitated; or

    (f) a person dependent for principal support on the deceased victim of the crime. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Offender: means the person convicted of the particular crime in question. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Office: means Office of the Attorney General, South Carolina Crime Victim Services Division. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510

(C) Upon receipt of a copy of the complaint, the office shall:

(1) use certified mail, return receipt requested, to notify all other known eligible persons whose addresses are known of the alleged existence of profits from a crime;

(2) publish, at least once a year for three years from the date it is initially notified by an eligible person under this section, a legal notice in newspapers of general circulation in the county where the crime was committed and in contiguous counties advising any eligible persons of the alleged existence of profits from a crime. The office may provide additional notice in its discretion; and

(3) avoid the wasting of the assets identified in the complaint as the newly discovered profits from a crime in any manner consistent with subsection (B).

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