Convicted assassin Alex Murdo is dealing with federal expenses for the primary time after he was indicted on 22 monetary fraud expenses over allegations {that a} disgraced former lawyer plotted to steal settlement cash from purchasers.
The indictments, launched Wednesday, don’t seem to include any new expenses towards Murdo, a once-prominent South Carolina lawyer who’s serving a life sentence with out parole for the homicide of his spouse and youngest son. He’s additionally awaiting trial on about 100 different state expenses, together with insurance coverage fraud, tax evasion and theft.
However Murdo’s legal professionals indicated that he was in talks with federal prosecutors and added that this a part of his authorized difficulties could possibly be resolved quickly.
Alex is cooperating with the US Legal professional’s Workplace and federal businesses in investigating a variety of actions. We anticipate the costs filed at the moment to be rapidly dismissed with out trial,” legal professionals for Jim Griffin and Dick Harputlian stated in a press release.
Murdo, 54, is charged with 14 counts of cash laundering, 5 counts of wire fraud, one depend of financial institution fraud, one depend of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and financial institution fraud, and one depend of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as per unopened federal indictments. Wednesday.
Every cost carries a minimal of 20 years in jail. Some resist 30 years.
Alex Murdo is dropped at the Colleton County Courthouse by sheriff’s deputies for sentencing Friday, March 3, 2023, in Walterboro, South Carolina, after he was discovered responsible on June 7, 2021 of two counts of murdering Murdo’s spouse and son.
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Together with the indictments, federal prosecutors additionally introduced that Murdo’s longtime good friend Corey Fleming — an previous school roommate and godfather to one in every of his sons — will plead conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Thursday for his involvement in assist. Murdo in stealing cash.
Murdo satisfied the household of his longtime housekeeper, who died after a fall in his dwelling, to make use of Fleming as their lawyer, after which Fleming sued Murdo to get compensation for the wrongful dying they’d not given to her sons.
Murdo saved a lot of the greater than $3 million in settlement cash for himself, however Fleming additionally received a few of the money and used it to repay a mortgage, bank card debt, tax funds and purchase video video games, in response to state prosecutors who’ve already filed expenses. German Fleming within the proposed scheme.
Housekeeper Gloria Satterfield’s household did not see any cash till the family employed new legal professionals who traced the stolen funds and sued insurers and others.
Fleming, 54, faces as much as 5 years in jail and a $250,000 high quality when he’s later sentenced. The trial on the state cost introduced towards him is scheduled for September.
Different particulars of the alleged prosecutors in Murdo’s federal indictments have already been revealed in state authorized paperwork.
Murdo and banker good friend Russell Luffite labored collectively to withdraw settlement cash from purchasers’ accounts, prosecutors stated. Laffitte was convicted in November on six financial institution switch fraud expenses.
Different federal indictments include detailed allegations of how Murdo arrange a checking account with the identical identify as a reputable firm that dealt with funds to steal cash from prospects.
Murdo is at the moment in custody at an unnamed state jail after being discovered responsible in March of taking pictures his 22-year-old son Paul and 52-year-old spouse Maggie of their dwelling. Prosecutors stated he selected to kill them as a result of his theft of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} was about to be found, and he hoped that their deaths would carry him sympathy and time to provide you with a cover-up.
Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdo pose collectively in an undated {photograph}.
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How lengthy Griffin and Harputlian can proceed as Murdo can be up within the air.
A decide lately denied a request by legal professionals for a further $160,000 from Murdo’s retirement account to pay for his life sentence enchantment as a result of a six-week homicide trial exhausted the $600,000 they have been initially given.
Murdo’s authorized issues prolong to the civil courtroom. A decide ordered him to testify in a wrongful dying lawsuit filed by the household of an adolescent who died within the 2019 Paul Murdo boat crash. Authorities stated he was intoxicated and the teenager’s dad and mom sued Alex Murdo, a store that offered beer et al.
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