Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 40 years for federal financial crimes

Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and son, was given another 40 years in federal court on Monday for stealing millions of dollars from his clients and his once-prestigious law firm.  

The 55-year-old disbarred lawyer made his way into court shackled and in a prison jumpsuit to hear his fate on 22 federal counts. 

In addition to his two life sentences, Murdaugh was ordered earlier to spend another 27 years in prison in state court on financial crime charges that included money laundering, breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, and tax evasion.  

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said his sentence will run concurrently with Murdaugh’s state sentence.

Monday’s sentencing hearing was supposed to be straightforward — the government and Murdaugh had already hammered out a deal — but was complicated after prosecutors alleged last week that Murdaugh failed a polygraph test, thereby violating the terms of the plea agreement that required him to be honest. 

Prosecutors also identified 11 new financial victims and another $1.3 million in stolen money. 

Prosecutors argued Murdaugh spent most of his career “deceiving everyone in his personal and professional circles — unburdened by his own conscience,” and added that the “scope and pervasiveness of Murdaugh’s deceit is staggering.” 

“He ranks as one of the most prolific fraudsters this state has ever seen,” they said. 

Murdaugh denied the claims, and his lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin asked the judge to disregard the government’s allegations he was untruthful. They argued that the person administering the polygraph test was “odd” in his approach and accused him of wording questions improperly. They also claimed federal authorities refused to share the raw results of the test with them and claimed that polygraphs were notoriously unreliable and that their accuracy has been disputed for nearly six decades. 

Murdaugh has admitted to stealing from clients, including those closest to him. When his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died under mysterious conditions at the family home, he promised to take care of her family. Instead, he schemed to steal $4 million in a wrongful death settlement with the family’s insurer. 

The length of punishment for Murdaugh’s financial crimes does little to change his fate as long as the murder convictions against him stick. 

Murdaugh’s defense team sought a retrial in the murder case, arguing that Rebecca Hill, a court clerk, swayed jurors after she made comments about Murdaugh. Hill has denied the most serious allegations, including telling jurors not to be “fooled” by Murdaugh’s defense. She also allegedly had a private conversation with the jury forewoman in the bathroom and quipped to jurors when deliberations began that this “shouldn’t take us long.” 

Prosecutors argued that Hill’s comments didn’t do anything to change the outcome in the case. 

In January, a judge denied Murdaugh’s request for a new trial. 

Hill has since resigned from her role as Colleton County’s clerk of court. 

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Monday’s hearing largely ends Murdaugh’s time in court. It’s been a hard fall for Murdaugh who three years ago was an established and respected lawyer in South Carolina negotiating multimillion-dollar settlements.

Members of Murdaugh’s family served as elected prosecutors and ran the area’s most notable law firm for nearly a century.