Alex Murdaugh Indicted For Federal Conspiracy, Money Laundering

Convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh was indicted on 22 federal charges Wednesday, which allege that he stole settlement money from his housekeeper’s estate after she died on his property.

A South Carolina grand jury indicted the disgraced lawyer on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

“Trust in our legal system begins with trust in its lawyers,” U.S. Attorney for South Carolina Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. “South Carolinians turn to lawyers when they are at their most vulnerable, and in our state, those who abuse the public’s trust and enrich themselves by fraud, theft, and self-dealing will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. "

Federal prosecutors are alleging that Murdaugh, 54, "routed and redirected clients’ settlement funds to personally enrich himself.”

They also say he "conspired with a personal injury attorney in Beaufort to defraud the estate of Murdaugh’s former housekeeper,” Gloria Satterfield, who died in 2018 after she fell in the former legal scion’s home.

Murdaugh encouraged her family to hire attorney Corey Fleming, with whom he had "conspired to siphon settlement funds, disguised as 'prosecution expenses,'" prosecutors said. Murdaugh proceeded to steal almost $3.5 million from Satterfield’s estate and insurance company, according to the indictment.

Earlier this month, Murdaugh’s lawyers admitted that their client lied about Sattenfield’s fall, falsely blaming the family dogs for her fall to get insurance money.

Murdaugh “invented the critical facts,” his attorneys admitted in a lawsuit brought against their client by Nautilus Insurance Co, the insurance company he allegedly defrauded.

The Satterfields’ lawyer Eric Bland wrote on Twitter Wednesday that “today has been a great day for justice in South Carolina.”

"While it is said that Lady Justice is blind, she is not a sucker. Bottom Line — Can't run or hide from justice,” he wrote.

The Wednesday indictment also accuses Murdaugh of a series of financial crimes dating back to 2011.

The fallen legal scion was convicted of killing his wife and son in March and is already set to spend the rest of his life in prison for those crimes. He is accused of dozens of other financial crimes.