COLUMBIA, S.C. — Disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been indicted on charges that he stole money from his former Hampton law firm and a loan that was issued to one of his brothers, according to new state grand jury indictments.
The indictments were handed down earlier this week and were released Friday by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office after the publication of this report. In addition to Murdaugh, Spencer Anwan Roberts — a newly introduced defendant in the Murdaugh saga — and Jerry K. Rivers also were indicted, the attorney general said.
The indictments, in part, charge that Murdaugh took more than $91,000 from legal fees in December 2020 and January 2021 from his former law firm without the firm knowing and put the money toward his own personal use.
Another charge states that the firm mistakenly wrote a check to Murdaugh for $121,358. that was owed to his brother, and, instead of notifying the accounting office, Murdaugh deposited the loan into his own account and converted it for personal use.
Murdaugh’s brother, Randy, is still listed on the website of the rebranded law firm, Parker Law Group.
In all, the indictments charge Murdaugh with one count of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses and one count of money laundering for misappropriating funds rather than paying the fees into the firm as he was required to do. He also was indicted on two counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, one count of money laundering, and one count of computer crime that alleges Murdaugh, through false representation, took a loan repayment from the firm that was due to another partner.
Murdaugh was forced to resign last fall from his former family law firm, what was Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick, after the firm discovered he had “misappropriated funds.” He entered drug treatment shortly after to care for a substance abuse problem, his lawyers said at the time.
“This is disappointing news for all of us,” the firm said at the time. “Rest assured that our firm will deal with this in a straightforward manner. There’s no place in our firm for such behavior.”
Separately, Murdaugh was indicted five weeks ago on July 14 for the June 2021 murders of his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at their Colleton County hunting lodge estate of Moselle.
Indictments in the case accuse Murdaugh of killing Maggie with a rifle and Paul with a shotgun. The indictments gave no motive. The lack of detailed information underscores the puzzling unknowns that have been part of the case since the killings.
Murdaugh’s trial on murder charges is expected to be one of the most widely-watched trials in the state and nation in recent years.
Murdaugh also is charged in more than a dozen indictments with an array of financial theft crimes that allege he stole some $8.4 million from friends, associates, fellow lawyers and clients and laundered the stolen money through various bank accounts. He also is alleged to have used his stolen cash to set up a drug pipeline to buy drugs through intermediaries.
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