Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh stole millions, new charges allege
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The South Carolina State Grand Jury and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office levied 27 new criminal charges on former S.C. attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh on Friday morning.
This latest indictment says Murdaugh stole more than $4.8 million over the past five years. About $3.5 million was meant as insurance settlements for the sons of Murdaugh's housekeeper, whose death in 2019 was attributed to a fall at his home. He already faced additional charges in that case.
The indictments include breach of trust, obtaining property by false pretenses, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery, from charges in several South Carolina counties that span the course of several years and involve numerous alleged victims.
The State Grand Jury issued five indictments, totaling 27 counts, against suspended attorney Murdaugh. These indictments charge Murdaugh with four counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent; seven counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses; seven counts of money laundering; eight counts of computer crimes; and one count of Forgery.
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More: Read the full list of indictments
Murdaugh, 53, was suspended from the practice of law by the Supreme Court of South Carolina on Sept. 8, 2021. Murdaugh was previously indicted by a Colleton County Grand Jury for offenses related to a scheme to commit suicide and defraud an insurance company and remains in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia.
This State Grand Jury investigation has been led by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office also assisted with these investigations. The case will be prosecuted by the S.C. Attorney General's Office.
Attorneys and spokespersons for Murdaugh did not return emails seeking comment.
"This is Alex Murdaugh's version of Black Friday," said Gloria Satterfield attorney Eric Bland. Murdaugh is accused of stealing roughly $4.3 million in insurance settlements from her heirs following the 2018 death of Satterfield, his former housekeeper.
Murdaugh is currently at the center of numerous ongoing criminal investigations by the S.C. Attorney General's Office and the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, as well as a half dozen civil law suits.
On the night of June 7, 2021, Murdaugh called 911 to report that his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, had been shot and killed in an as-yet unsolved case. Another unsolved homicide case, involving the death of Stephen Smith in Hampton County in 2015, was also opened by SLED in the process of investigating the double homicides.
In addition to a civil suit from Satterfield's sons regarding allegations of stolen insurance settlements, Murdaugh is also named in a suit by his former law partners concerning allegations of misappropriated money, as well as a wrongful death suit filed in 2019 involving his boat and his son, Paul.
Contributing: The Associated Press