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On March 2, 2023, disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul. During the course of the trial, prosecutors noted that Alex Murdaugh's primary motive for killing his family members may have been the mounting suspicions of his financial crimes.
Trigger warning: This article refers to gun violence
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, besides being linked to multiple deaths, Alex Murdaugh has also been implicated in accusations of several white collar crimes such as embezzlement, fraudulent intent, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery.
The indictments accuse the former lawyer of having stolen almost $8.8 million from over a dozen people. He has also been accused of insurance fraud, as well as conspiring to purchase and distribute narcotics and is currently serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul.
The string of financial crimes linked to Alex Murdaugh
As per Island Packet, the embezzlement charges against Alex Murdaugh are primarily linked to accusations that he stole money from at least eight of his clients.
The most prominent embezzlement case probed during the Murdaugh murder trial was linked to the death of Gloria Satterfield. On February 2, 2018, the Murdaugh family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died under suspicious circumstances after she fell down the stairs.
While Satterfield's children were set to receive an insurance settlement over their mother's death, they accused Alex Murdaugh of stealing the money after he promised to help them secure the sum. As per the indictment, Murdaugh and two accomplices diverted approximately $4.3 million of the insurance policy settlement for themselves.
On June 7, 2021, the day of his wife's and younger son's murder, Murdaugh was confronted by associates at his law firm after they suspected that he had stolen $2.8 million in settlements the firm had collected.
The firm's CEO, Jeanne Seckinger, claimed that after she spoke to Murdaugh about the issue, she quickly had to change the topic as he claimed he had received a call regarding his father's failing health.
She would tell the court that she believed Murdaugh had been stealing from the firm for approximately a decade. She said:
"I take his conduct very personally. He stole money."
Within 12 hours, Murdaugh murdered his wife and son. Authorities believe the double homicide was a desperate attempt to divert his partner's attention and delay their probe into the financial irregularities.
On September 3, 2021, after he was already being investigated for the double homicide, Murdaugh allegedly attempted to arrange his own murder in order to secure insurance money for his surviving son, Buster.
Murdaugh was accused of hiring a co-conspirator to shoot him in the head, which would supposedly ensure a $10 million life insurance payout for his oldest child. However, court documents indicated that Murdaugh survived the shooting with a 'superficial' would to the head.
He has not yet been convicted of any financial crimes.
