Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison in March after being convicted in the double murder of his wife and son.
The disgraced former South Carolina attorney, who was convicted in March of murdering his wife and son, pleaded guilty to nearly two dozen federal fraud and money laundering charges on Thursday, according to attorneys inside the courtroom during proceedings.
Murdaugh appeared Thursday morning in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, before US District Court Judge Richard Gergel.
For the first time, Alex Murdaugh has pleaded guilty to crimes.
Murdaugh cried as he told Gergel he was pleading guilty of his own free will and so his son could see him take responsibility for his actions, as well as to help his victims heal, according to three attorneys present during the proceedings.
According to the filed agreement, Murdaugh agreed to plead guilty to 22 charges in all: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud; one count of bank fraud; five counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and 14 counts of money laundering.
The charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in federal prison, with some carrying a maximum of 30 years.
The judge signed and accepted the plea agreement, according to the attorneys present during the proceedings.
The plea is related to an alleged scheme in which Murdaugh and a bank employee allegedly defrauded his personal injury clients and laundered more than $7 million of funds, according to an indictment.
Murdaugh is accused in the indictment of using the settlement funds for his “personal benefit, including using the proceeds to pay off personal loans and for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.”
If Murdaugh complies with the conditions of the plea bargain, federal attorneys agreed to recommend that he serve any prison sentence on the federal charges concurrent to any state sentence he receives for the same alleged crimes, according to the document.
The fraud charges are just the latest legal problems for Murdaugh, the scion of a prominent and powerful family of local lawyers and solicitors in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Murdaugh was convicted in March of murdering his wife and son in 2021 at their sprawling estate, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His defense team filed a court motion in September demanding a new trial and alleging a clerk of court tampered with the jury. The South Carolina attorney general has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate the claims.
Last week, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the court to order Murdaugh’s defense team to correct their motion due to several “procedural defects.” The prosecutor’s office didn’t directly dispute the motion but noted the ongoing investigation has already “revealed significant factual disputes” that undermine the credibility of Murdaugh’s claims.
In addition, the disbarred attorney remains entangled in several other state and federal cases in which he faces more than 100 other charges.
Murdaugh is set to stand trial in November on charges related to stolen settlement funds from the family of the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
They are the first of dozens of state charges he faces in alleged schemes to defraud victims of millions. The financial crimes he is accused of in the case include embezzlement, computer crime, money laundering and tax evasion.
CNN
