Washington, United States

Alex Murdaugh on Wednesday (May 24) was indicted on financial fraud charges related to the housekeeper's death. A federal court in the United States charged the former South Carolina lawyer with 22 counts of financial fraud. 

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According to the US Attorney's Office in South Carolina, the 54-year-old Murdaugh apparently conspired with another personal injury lawyer — Cory Fleming — to siphon settlement funds in the death of the housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. 

The longtime housekeeper died in 2018 following what had been described as a "trip and fall accident" at the family home. 

The prosecutors said that Murdaugh directed Fleming to draw checks totalling nearly $3.5 million to a bank account that he utilised for his profit, while Satterfield's estate received none of the settlement cash.

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Fleming, 54, is set to plead guilty on Thursday on a charge of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud in connection with the Satterfield case, according to federal authorities. 

As quoted by NBC News, US Attorney Adair Boroughs said in a statement: "Trust in our legal system begins with trust in its lawyers." 

The statement added: "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." 

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Earlier this month, Murdaugh's lawyers revealed part of a lawsuit that accused him of life insurance fraud in Satterfield's death. 

The suit stated that he "invented the critical facts" surrounding her original trip and fall accident in order to earn millions of dollars in the settlement. 

Nautilus Insurance Co. had filed a suit alleging it was defrauded and the attorney for Satterfield's children said that Murdaugh never told the family about the settlement money. 

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Murdaugh's legal troubles 

In March, he was convicted of murdering his wife and son. He later said that he was appealing his conviction in the sensational case. 

A jury only needed a few hours to convict him despite the lack of specific evidence, such as a murder weapon or DNA proving he shot his son Paul and wife Maggie on June 7, 2021. 

Murdaugh was the only one with them at the estate's hunting dog kennels several minutes before Maggie was slain with an assault rifle and Paul with a shotgun, according to evidence from his son's cell phone. 

The court condemned Murdaugh to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole one day following the jury's decision. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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