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Murdaugh charged with insurance fraud
| histrionic brilliant voyeur | 09/16/21 |
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Date: September 16th, 2021 6:48 PM Author: histrionic brilliant voyeur Prominent South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was charged Thursday with insurance fraud and filing a false report in connection with what investigators say was a botched effort to stage his own death on Sept. 4.
The 53-year-old scion of a South Carolina legal dynasty turned himself in just before noon Thursday at the Hampton County Detention Center in the southeastern part of the state.
Mr. Murdaugh’s arrest comes three months after his wife, Maggie, and younger son Paul were fatally shot at close range at the family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate.
Mr. Murdaugh is accused of conspiring with a former client, Curtis Edward Smith, in an attempt to take his life and allow his older son Buster Murdaugh to collect life insurance. Mr. Murdaugh gave Mr. Smith one of his guns and asked him to shoot him in the head so Buster Murdaugh could benefit from the $10 million policy, said Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyer Dick Harpootlian.
Buster Murdaugh, center, receives a hug during a June funeral service for his brother, Paul, and mother, Maggie. PHOTO: KACEN BAYLESS/THE ISLAND PACKET/ASSOCIATED PRESS Mr. Murdaugh was in the throes of an opioid addiction and distraught over pending legal problems, Mr. Harpootlian said. Mr. Murdaugh has been in rehab at an out-of-state facility, his lawyer said.
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PREVIEW SUBSCRIBE Appearing in court on Thursday, Mr. Murdaugh walked in shackled, wearing a white facemask and dressed in a beige prison outfit. Hampton County Judge Tonja Alexander issued a bond of $20,000 and allowed Mr. Murdaugh to return to rehab.
“If he does leave the facility, if he leaves the facility without any permission, your bond will be revoked and there will be a bench warrant for your arrest,” Judge Alexander said.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents would continue working to bring justice to anyone involved with any criminal act associated with the continuing investigations, Chief Mark Keel said in a written statement. “The arrests in this case are only the first step in that process,” he said.
“Alex is fully cooperating with SLED in their investigations into his shooting, opioid use and the search to find the person or people responsible for the murder of his wife and son,” his lawyers said. “Alex is not without fault but he is just one of many whose life has been devastated by opioid addiction.”
Alex Murdaugh is accused of conspiring with Curtis Edward Smith, seen in a booking photo from Tuesday. PHOTO: COLLETON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/ASSOCIATED PRESS Mr. Smith, Mr. Murdaugh’s alleged accomplice in the Sept. 4 shooting, was arrested on Sept. 14 on charges including assisted suicide and insurance fraud, as well as distributing methamphetamine.
On Wednesday, SLED investigators opened a separate inquiry into the 2018 death of longtime Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.
Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper asked SLED to open an investigation because court documents show that Ms. Satterfield’s sons brought a wrongful-death lawsuit against Mr. Murdaugh in what is described as a trip-and-fall accident at the Murdaugh home. The death had never been reported as suspicious, and Ms. Satterfield’s death certificate said she died of natural causes, Ms. Topper said.
Ms. Satterfield’s adult sons filed a separate civil suit against Mr. Murdaugh earlier this week, saying they never received any of the $550,000 insurance settlement reported in court filings.
—Talal Ansari contributed to this article. |