Photo: Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP
After being accused of stealing millions from the family of his deceased former housekeeper,Gloria Satterfield,Alex Murdaughhas been indicted on 22 counts of fraud and money laundering.
Eric Bland and Ronald Richter, attorneys for the Satterfield family,said in a statementthat “while it is said that Lady Justice is blind, she is not a sucker,” on Wednesday. “Bottom line — can’t run or hide from justice.”
According to apress releasefrom the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina’s office, the disgraced South Carolina attorney andconvicted murderer’s charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
While theindictmentalleges that Murdaugh, 54, engaged in three different schemes to obtain money and property from his personal injury clients as early as September 2005 and up to October 2021, prosecutors also allege that Murdaugh worked with a personal injury attorney in Beaufort to defraud Satterfield’s estate and his homeowner insurance carriers.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Murdaugh’s insurance companies settled the estate’s claim for $505,000 and $3,800,000, but the estate did not receive any of those funds after the Beaufort attorney allegedly deposited them into an account that was reportedly opened to funnel stolen personal injury settlements “from in or around May 2017 through at least July 2021.”
Brice W. Herndon and Sons Funeral Home
Prosecutors also allege that Murdaugh obtained money from his clients through false pretenses, which included redirecting settlement funds and insurance proceeds intended for beneficiaries into his personal account between September 2005 till at least September 2021. The second alleged scheme is said to have occurred “from in or around July 2011 until at least October 2021” and involved banker and Murdaugh’s accused accomplice Russell Laffitte.
The 52-year-old was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and misapplication of bank funds in March, according toWJBF-6.
According to the press release, Laffitte served as a personal representative and conservator for numerous personal injury clients and used funds collected to pay off Murdaugh’s personal loans, expenses, and personal withdrawals.
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Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, attorneys for Murdaugh, said in astatement to NBC Newsthey anticipate his federal charges will be “quickly resolved without a trial” and that “Alex has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys' Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities.”
Murdaugh is currently being held at McCormick Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in South Carolina, about 40 miles north of Augusta, Georgia.
source: people.com
