Murdaugh pleads not guilty to federal crimes. How does this impact his state charges?
CHARLESTON (AP) — Disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh was arraigned Wednesday on federal money laundering and wire fraud charges for indictments saying he stole money from his clients, and although he pleaded not guilty for now, his lawyer said that might change soon.
Murdaugh is already serving two consecutive life sentences in a South Carolina state prison for killing his wife and son, and the details of the 22-count indictment aren’t new. State prosecutors have previously indicted Murdaugh on similar charges, saying he diverted money meant for clients and a wrongful death settlement for his family’s longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who fell at Murdaugh’s home, to his own bank accounts.
While Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the recent indictments in federal court, he had previously signed a confession of judgement acknowledging liability and wrongdoing in civil court for the Satterfield case, but his attorneys are now trying to have that confession thrown out.
Murdaugh’s lawyers said in a statement last week the former attorney has been cooperating with federal investigators, and they anticipated the latest charges would be “quickly resolved without a trial.”
Meanwhile, state prosecutors say federal indictments will not stop them from moving forward with Murdaugh's pre-existing state charges.
A federal guilty plea to the charges that can mean decades in prison would guarantee a long time behind bars for Murdaugh even if his pending appeal of his double murder conviction was successful.
Murdaugh testified at his murder trial earlier this year to repeatedly deny shooting his 22-year-old son, Paul, and 52-year-old wife, Maggie, at their home on June 7, 2021. Prosecutors said he killed them because his millions of dollars of theft was about to be discovered, and he was hoping their deaths would buy him sympathy and time to figure out a cover-up and replace stolen money.
Murdaugh, who turned 55 in a state prison cell in protective custody Saturday, also faces around 100 other state charges, including stealing from clients and his family’s law firm, insurance fraud and tax evasion.
Prosecutors, Murdaugh’s attorneys and state Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial, are trying to find court time to try at least some of those charges before Newman, by law, has to retire because of his age at the end of 2023.
In federal court, Murdaugh faces 14 counts of money laundering, five counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
His longtime friend and alleged accomplice Cory Fleming — an old college roommate and godfather to his slain son — pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his part in helping Murdaugh steal more than $4 million in wrongful-death settlements with insurers meant for the family and heirs of Satterfield.
The other allegations prosecutors detail in Murdaugh’s federal indictments already have been revealed in state legal papers.
It said Murdaugh and a banker friend, Russell Laffitte, worked together to take settlement money out of client’s accounts, prosecutors said. Laffitte was convicted in November of six wire and bank fraud charges. His appeals have so far been denied.
What impact will federal crimes have on state charges?
Whether he pleads guilty or not, what impact will Murdaugh's federal indictments have on his 100-plus State Grand Jury charges? Little to none, if the S.C. Attorney General's Office can help it.
"The financial allegations in these cases involve alleged abuse of state lawyer licenses dealing with state court legal actions, often before state court judges, with alleged misappropriation of state court-approved settlements," said SCAG spokesperson Robert Kittle in a statement to The Hampton County Guardian.
"The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and the State Law Enforcement Division have occupied a primary and central role in this investigation from inception, and no action by any other entity will have any effect on our goals to ensure significant accountability in state court for any criminal conduct."
Michael DeWitt Jr., Managing Editor of The Hampton County Guardian/USA Today Network-South Carolina, contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Murdaugh pleads not guilty to federal crimes. How it impacts SC charges
