Following suit after suit, one-time prominent lawyer Alex Murdaugh appeared on Monday in a South Carolina courtroom garbed not in his usual attorney apparel but a prison jumpsuit. His sentence - a hefty 40 years in federal prison.
A History of Deception
Murdaugh, a 55-year-old disbarred attorney, now has three convictions. Before this sentencing, he had already been serving life without parole in a state prison. His initial crime - killing his wife and son.
This time, the court's gavel fell on him for stealing from clients and his law firm. Federal agents had earlier recommended a sentence of 17.5 to just under 22 years. However, an additional verdict in state court for financial crimes brought him a further order to spend 27 years in prison.
Balancing State and Federal Punishment
Murdaugh's federal and state sentences will operate concurrently. What this implies is a probable need for him to serve all 40 years if his murder convictions get reversed on an appeal.
U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel opted for a severe punishment for Murdaugh compared to initial recommendations. The thefts were not simply viewed as crimes but betrayals of trust. The victims included a client rendered quadriplegic after a crash, an injured state trooper, and a trust fund purposed for children who had lost parents in a wreck.
The Multiplicity of Federal Counts
Currently, Murdaugh faces the last 22 outstanding federal counts. Just three years ago, he was a distinguished lawyer discussing multimillion-dollar settlements in Hampton County. His family held a leading position in the county as elected prosecutors and managed the area's top law firm for almost a century.
However, this sentence came with an additional financial penalty. The restitution amount - almost $9 million.
Continued Investigation and Restitution
The remaining funds stolen are estimated at $6 million, with prosecutors suspecting that Murdaugh is not expressing the truth about its disappearance. Thus, along with hoping for a harsher sentence for Murdaugh, an investigation has been launched into a lawyer who potentially assisted Murdaugh's illegal ventures.
Murdaugh's web of deceit also spun out to include the family of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. After she died due to a fall at the family home, Murdaugh promised to take care of the family. Instead, he collaborated with a lawyer friend who pleaded guilty to lifting $4 million from a wrongful death settlement with the family's insurer.
In all these, almost two dozen clients were swindled by Murdaugh, either seizing their settlement money or hiking fees or expenditures. The extent of his crimes was such that he bagged almost $1.3 million from robbing additional victims uncovered solely by the FBI.
Murdaugh, however, continues to maintain his innocence in the murder cases and insists on having an appeal in the following years despite pleading guilty to a multitude of financial crimes.
Public Interest and Securities Fraud Comparisons
Interest from true crime fans has surged following the case, with numerous podcast episodes and an avalanche of social media posts lending to its notoriety.
Murdaugh's defense tried to argue for a lighter sentence in a surprising move. The comparison of potential verdicts drew attention to high-profile securities fraud cases. The team juxtaposed the situation of crypto businessman Sam Bankman-Fried, who faced 25 years, and Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes with her 11-year sentence, noting that their theft ran into billions, while Murdaugh's were in the millions. But, as lawyer Eric Bland rightly noted, these victims invested money while Murdaugh's victims had lost loved ones.
