Alex Murdaugh Arrested, Accused of Stealing $4.3M of Late Housekeeper's Insurance Settlement Alex Murdaugh was arrested in Florida as he was leaving a drug rehab facility, authorities announced KC BAKER Alex Murdaugh has been arrested and charged with misappropriating insurance settlement funds in the wrongful death suit that followed the mysterious trip and fall death of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, authorities announced. On Thursday morning, agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took the longtime attorney, 52, into custody as he left a drug rehabilitation facility in Orlando, Fla., SLED wrote in a release. He is charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. "These charges stem from a SLED investigation into misappropriated settlement funds in the death of Gloria Satterfield," the release says. Satterfield worked as the housekeeper for the Murdaugh family for years. She died in their home in 2018, purportedly after an accident. Her sons filed a wrongful death lawsuit — allegedly at Murdaugh's suggestion, the sons' attorney, Eric Bland said. But they "never saw a dime of it," Bland said. Murdaugh has been taken to Orange County Corrections where he will be held until he receives an extradition hearing. Upon extradition being granted or waived, he will be brought back to South Carolina to receive a bond hearing. In September, the sons reached a settlement with Cory Fleming, the lawyer who had represented them but whom they had accused of withholding money from them, according to Bland and his partner, Ronnie Richter. 02 In September, an agreement between the estate of Gloria Satterfield, attorney Cory Fleming, his law firm, Moss, Kuhn and Fleming and their insurance carrier was reached "in connection with the pending lawsuit," attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "Mr. Fleming and his firm agreed that the Estate will be paid back all legal fees and expenses Mr. Fleming and his law firm received from the $4,300,000 they recovered for the Estate in connection with the claims asserted against Alex Murdaugh for the death of Gloria Satterfield," Bland and Richter said. "In addition, their malpractice insurance carrier agreed to pay to the Estate their full policy limits of insurance," Bland and Richter said. RELATED: Maggie Murdaugh Saw a Divorce Lawyer 6 Weeks Before She and Her Son Were Murdered: Source "Mr. Fleming stepped forward and did the right thing by the Estate. Mr. Fleming and his law firm maintain, they — like others — were victims of Alex Murdaugh's fraudulent scheme. "A more comprehensive joint statement from Mr. Fleming, his firm, and the Satterfield Estate will be issued later this week." Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, released a statement Thursday about their client's arrest confirming the charges and saying, " Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders." Alex Murdaugh Referred Housekeeper's Sons to Their Attorney, New Lawyer SaysOn Sept. 15, the sons filed a lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh alleging that after Satterfield died, Murdaugh referred them — Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriot — to Fleming so they could file a wrongful death claim against him, the lawsuit says. For exclusive interviews and details on the Alex Murdaugh case, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up last week's issue, on newsstands now. Murdaugh had allegedly said that Satterfield died after tripping over his family's dogs, attorney Bland told PEOPLE previously. "After the funeral, he came up to the two sons and said, 'Hey, look, I'm going to recommend that you go see this attorney Cory Fleming, and he's going to represent you two in the estate and bring claims in connection with your mother's death,'" Bland said. "He doesn't tell the boys, 'Oh, by the way, this is a lawyer that was my best friend, my college roommate," Bland told PEOPLE. Though a death settlement of $505,000 was approved, Bland told PEOPLE his clients "haven't been paid one dime since this was settled in 2020." The $505,000 isn't all that Bland alleges his clients never received. After he filed the Sept. 15 lawsuit on behalf of his clients, Bland said he discovered a previously undiscovered judge's order approving a $4.3 million settlement. 02 The documents were signed by a judge, Bland says, but never filed. RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Is in Custody, Charged with Insurance Fraud and Filing a False Police Report According to the Order Approving Settlement filed in 2019 in the Hampton Court of Common Pleas, the sons were supposed to receive $2.765 million of the $4.3 million settlement. But in the Order Approving Settlement, it states that $1.435 million of the Settlement went to attorney's fees. It is unclear how much the sons would receive. Fleming and his law firm were represented by Thomas Pendarvis from the Pendarvis Law Offices, P.C. in Beaufort, S.C., and David Overstreet of Earhart Overstreet in Charleston, S.C. These attorneys and an attorney for Murdaugh did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Bland and Richter's work is not finished, they said in the statement. "The estate will continue pursuing other culpable parties who resist acceptance of responsibility for their part in this tragic matter," the attorneys wrote. Authorities Are Investigating Satterfield's Death On Sept. 15, the same day Bland filed the lawsuit, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced that it was opening an investigation into Satterfield's death. SLED officials said that a coroner had recently found inconsistencies surrounding Satterfield's death. The incident was not reported to the coroner in 2018, and there was no autopsy performed at the time. Details of Satterfield's fall have not been disclosed. It's unclear who was at the home at the time of the incident. A well-known attorney in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Alex Murdaugh came into the national spotlight after he came home on the night of June 7, 2021, to find his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, shot to death on the grounds of their hunting lodge. Police are still searching for their killer or killers. They're also trying to unravel the knot of alleged illegal activity, scandal and bizarre behavior centered on Alex Murdaugh that surfaced after the killings. RELATED: 'Big Family, Old Money, New Drama': Inside the Powerful S.C. Family at Center of Murder Mystery Since June, Alex Murdaugh has been fired from his job at his family's law firm, accused of embezzlement, shot in the head, gone to rehab for substance abuse and arrested and accused of hiring a hitman to help him commit suicide so his surviving son could cash in on a $10 million life insurance policy. Bland and Murdaugh's attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment. Sons' Lawyers: 'No One Is Above the Law' Calling today "a bittersweet day for the Satterfield and Harriott families," Bland and Richter said in a release that "avarice and betrayal of trust are at the heart of this matter. "Lawsuits and claims are not vehicles for lawyers, defendants and/or friends to enrich themselves at the expense of their clients," they said. "These belong to the clients and the clients only. This is the sacred trust that lawyers and fiduciaries owe their clients." Since early September, they wrote, the families have been dealing "with the betrayal of trust and that their loved one's death was used as a vehicle to enrich others over the clients." They reiterated that, "It is not over. A very good start to holding everyone accountable who either participated knowingly or breached their duties. "The bottom line is no one is above the law." The best of People Get celebrity and royals news plus human interest stories delivered straight to your in-box Visit PEOPLE.com
Alex Murdaugh Is a Person of Interest in June Murders of Wife and Son, His Lawyer Says Alex Murdaugh, who faces several other charges, is facing scrutiny after the murders of his wife and younger son STEVE HELLING Alex Murdaugh, the once-prominent South Carolina attorney who was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing more than $4 million from his late housekeeper's insurance settlement, is a person of interest in the double homicide of his wife and son. In an interview with FOX Carolina News, his attorney, Jim Griffin, confirmed Murdaugh is under scrutiny in the murder case. 02 "SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] has said from the get-go that Alex was a person of interest," Griffin told the station. Alex's wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and the couple's younger son, Paul, were fatally shot outside the family home on June 7. Alex returned to the family property shortly after 10 p.m. and called 911 to report discovering the bodies. Authorities have not identified a motive or a suspect in the killings. No one has been arrested, and authorities are giving scant information about the case — except to say that Maggie and Paul were shot with two different firearms. RELATED: 'Big Family, Old Money, New Drama': Inside the Powerful S.C. Family at Center of Murder Mystery RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Is in Custody, Charged with Insurance Fraud and Filing a False Police Report Although Alex is a person of interest, his attorney insisted to Fox Carolina that his client was visiting his mother, who has dementia, at the time of the murders. "He had no motive to kill them," Griffin told the station. "You would think that if Alex was the one who did it, that SLED would have been able to establish that pretty easily that night," Griffin continued. " You would think they would have searched his house and found blood somewhere. You would think they would have found the murder weapons on the property. You would think they would come up with something to link Alex to the murders, forensically or independent evidence. To my knowledge, they have not done that." 02 RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Arrested, Accused of Stealing $4.3M of Late Housekeeper's Insurance Settlement While authorities continue to investigate Paul's and Maggie's deaths, things are still dire for Alex Murdaugh. Since the murders in June, he has been fired from his job at his family's law firm, accused of embezzlement, shot in the head, gone to rehab for substance abuse and arrested twice. Before his Thursday arrest, he had been accused of hiring a hitman to help him commit suicide so his surviving son could cash in on a $10 million life insurance policy. He was charged with insurance fraud and filing a false police report. He has not entered a plea in that case. On Thursday, he was charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Authorities allege that his insurance paid out $4.3 million in a wrongful death suit that followed the mysterious trip and fall death of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Satterfield's family says they never received the money, and authorities now allege that Alex Murdaugh took it. RELATED: Maggie Murdaugh Saw a Divorce Lawyer 6 Weeks Before She and Her Son Were Murdered: Source Alex Murdaugh, who has admitted to opioid addiction and gone to rehab, has not entered a plea to the new charges. In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said, "We have not seen the warrants but have been informed that he is charged with two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses relating to the settlement proceeds from the Estate of Gloria Satterfield." "Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders." The best of People Get celebrity and royals news plus human interest stories delivered straight to your in-box Visit PEOPLE.com
律师法官检察官犯罪是很普遍的，因为它们自己就是司法系统里头的，对这里头猫腻门儿清，知道怎么钻空子犯罪。所以驾轻就熟
医生也一样，手里都沾满鲜血，每个几乎都身背无数命案。这一点我相信耗老师
Alex Murdaugh Arrested, Accused of Stealing $4.3M of Late Housekeeper's
Insurance Settlement
Alex Murdaugh was arrested in Florida as he was leaving a drug rehab
facility, authorities announced
KC BAKER
Alex Murdaugh has been arrested and charged with misappropriating insurance settlement funds in the wrongful death suit that followed the mysterious
trip and fall death of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield,
authorities announced.
On Thursday morning, agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took the longtime
attorney, 52, into custody as he left a drug rehabilitation facility in
Orlando, Fla., SLED wrote in a release.
He is charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false
pretenses.
"These charges stem from a SLED investigation into misappropriated
settlement funds in the death of Gloria Satterfield," the release says.
Satterfield worked as the housekeeper for the Murdaugh family for years. She died in their home in 2018, purportedly after an accident. Her sons filed a wrongful death lawsuit — allegedly at Murdaugh's suggestion, the sons'
attorney, Eric Bland said.
But they "never saw a dime of it," Bland said.
Murdaugh has been taken to Orange County Corrections where he will be held
until he receives an extradition hearing.
Upon extradition being granted or waived, he will be brought back to South
Carolina to receive a bond hearing.
In September, the sons reached a settlement with Cory Fleming, the lawyer
who had represented them but whom they had accused of withholding money from them, according to Bland and his partner, Ronnie Richter.
02
In September, an agreement between the estate of Gloria Satterfield,
attorney Cory Fleming, his law firm, Moss, Kuhn and Fleming and their
insurance carrier was reached "in connection with the pending lawsuit,"
attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a statement obtained by
PEOPLE.
"Mr. Fleming and his firm agreed that the Estate will be paid back all legal fees and expenses Mr. Fleming and his law firm received from the $4,300,000 they recovered for the Estate in connection with the claims asserted
against Alex Murdaugh for the death of Gloria Satterfield," Bland and
Richter said.
"In addition, their malpractice insurance carrier agreed to pay to the
Estate their full policy limits of insurance," Bland and Richter said.
RELATED: Maggie Murdaugh Saw a Divorce Lawyer 6 Weeks Before She and Her Son Were Murdered: Source
"Mr. Fleming stepped forward and did the right thing by the Estate. Mr.
Fleming and his law firm maintain, they — like others — were victims of
Alex Murdaugh's fraudulent scheme.
"A more comprehensive joint statement from Mr. Fleming, his firm, and the
Satterfield Estate will be issued later this week."
Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, released a statement
Thursday about their client's arrest confirming the charges and saying, "
Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that
his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders."
Alex Murdaugh Referred Housekeeper's Sons to Their Attorney, New Lawyer SaysOn Sept. 15, the sons filed a lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh alleging that
after Satterfield died, Murdaugh referred them — Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriot — to Fleming so they could file a wrongful death claim
against him, the lawsuit says.
For exclusive interviews and details on the Alex Murdaugh case, subscribe
now to PEOPLE or pick up last week's issue, on newsstands now.
Murdaugh had allegedly said that Satterfield died after tripping over his
family's dogs, attorney Bland told PEOPLE previously.
"After the funeral, he came up to the two sons and said, 'Hey, look, I'm
going to recommend that you go see this attorney Cory Fleming, and he's
going to represent you two in the estate and bring claims in connection with your mother's death,'" Bland said.
"He doesn't tell the boys, 'Oh, by the way, this is a lawyer that was my
best friend, my college roommate," Bland told PEOPLE.
Though a death settlement of $505,000 was approved, Bland told PEOPLE his
clients "haven't been paid one dime since this was settled in 2020."
The $505,000 isn't all that Bland alleges his clients never received.
After he filed the Sept. 15 lawsuit on behalf of his clients, Bland said he discovered a previously undiscovered judge's order approving a $4.3 million settlement.
02
The documents were signed by a judge, Bland says, but never filed.
RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Is in Custody, Charged with Insurance Fraud and
Filing a False Police Report
According to the Order Approving Settlement filed in 2019 in the Hampton
Court of Common Pleas, the sons were supposed to receive $2.765 million of
the $4.3 million settlement.
But in the Order Approving Settlement, it states that $1.435 million of the Settlement went to attorney's fees. It is unclear how much the sons would
receive.
Fleming and his law firm were represented by Thomas Pendarvis from the
Pendarvis Law Offices, P.C. in Beaufort, S.C., and David Overstreet of
Earhart Overstreet in Charleston, S.C.
These attorneys and an attorney for Murdaugh did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Bland and Richter's work is not finished, they said in the statement.
"The estate will continue pursuing other culpable parties who resist
acceptance of responsibility for their part in this tragic matter," the
attorneys wrote.
Authorities Are Investigating Satterfield's Death
On Sept. 15, the same day Bland filed the lawsuit, the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division (SLED) announced that it was opening an investigation
into Satterfield's death.
SLED officials said that a coroner had recently found inconsistencies
surrounding Satterfield's death. The incident was not reported to the
coroner in 2018, and there was no autopsy performed at the time.
Details of Satterfield's fall have not been disclosed. It's unclear who was at the home at the time of the incident.
A well-known attorney in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Alex Murdaugh came
into the national spotlight after he came home on the night of June 7, 2021, to find his wife, Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, shot to death on the grounds of their hunting lodge.
Police are still searching for their killer or killers. They're also trying to unravel the knot of alleged illegal activity, scandal and bizarre
behavior centered on Alex Murdaugh that surfaced after the killings.
RELATED: 'Big Family, Old Money, New Drama': Inside the Powerful S.C. Family at Center of Murder Mystery
Since June, Alex Murdaugh has been fired from his job at his family's law
firm, accused of embezzlement, shot in the head, gone to rehab for substance abuse and arrested and accused of hiring a hitman to help him commit
suicide so his surviving son could cash in on a $10 million life insurance
policy.
Bland and Murdaugh's attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's
requests for comment.
Sons' Lawyers: 'No One Is Above the Law'
Calling today "a bittersweet day for the Satterfield and Harriott families," Bland and Richter said in a release that "avarice and betrayal of trust are at the heart of this matter.
"Lawsuits and claims are not vehicles for lawyers, defendants and/or friends to enrich themselves at the expense of their clients," they said. "These
belong to the clients and the clients only. This is the sacred trust that
lawyers and fiduciaries owe their clients."
Since early September, they wrote, the families have been dealing "with the betrayal of trust and that their loved one's death was used as a vehicle to enrich others over the clients."
They reiterated that, "It is not over. A very good start to holding everyone accountable who either participated knowingly or breached their duties.
"The bottom line is no one is above the law."
The best of People
Get celebrity and royals news plus human interest stories delivered straight to your in-box
Visit PEOPLE.com
金融，律师，医生，这三大行业
政客很多就是律师
你可以搜Michael Avenatti这个人，勒索Nike
坏的出水
【 在 ny26 (SWM is a SB) 的大作中提到: 】
: 金融，律师，医生，这三大行业
: 政客很多就是律师
: 你可以搜Michael Avenatti这个人，勒索Nike
这老爹个子挺高，不过两个儿子都不高，尤其小儿子居然跟老妈一边高
这老爹估计犯罪很多，得罪了很多人，要不是这次老婆儿子被杀，牵扯不出这么多黑幕
现在曝光的罪行估计也只是冰山一角
Alex Murdaugh Is a Person of Interest in June Murders of Wife and Son, His
Lawyer Says
Alex Murdaugh, who faces several other charges, is facing scrutiny after the murders of his wife and younger son
STEVE HELLING
Alex Murdaugh, the once-prominent South Carolina attorney who was arrested
on Thursday for allegedly stealing more than $4 million from his late
housekeeper's insurance settlement, is a person of interest in the double
homicide of his wife and son.
In an interview with FOX Carolina News, his attorney, Jim Griffin, confirmed Murdaugh is under scrutiny in the murder case.
02
"SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] has said from the get-go
that Alex was a person of interest," Griffin told the station.
Alex's wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and the couple's younger son, Paul, were
fatally shot outside the family home on June 7. Alex returned to the family property shortly after 10 p.m. and called 911 to report discovering the
bodies.
Authorities have not identified a motive or a suspect in the killings. No
one has been arrested, and authorities are giving scant information about
the case — except to say that Maggie and Paul were shot with two different firearms.
RELATED: 'Big Family, Old Money, New Drama': Inside the Powerful S.C. Family at Center of Murder Mystery
RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Is in Custody, Charged with Insurance Fraud and
Filing a False Police Report
Although Alex is a person of interest, his attorney insisted to Fox Carolina that his client was visiting his mother, who has dementia, at the time of
the murders. "He had no motive to kill them," Griffin told the station.
"You would think that if Alex was the one who did it, that SLED would have
been able to establish that pretty easily that night," Griffin continued. "
You would think they would have searched his house and found blood somewhere. You would think they would have found the murder weapons on the property. You would think they would come up with something to link Alex to the
murders, forensically or independent evidence. To my knowledge, they have
not done that."
02
RELATED: Alex Murdaugh Arrested, Accused of Stealing $4.3M of Late
Housekeeper's Insurance Settlement
While authorities continue to investigate Paul's and Maggie's deaths, things are still dire for Alex Murdaugh. Since the murders in June, he has been
fired from his job at his family's law firm, accused of embezzlement, shot
in the head, gone to rehab for substance abuse and arrested twice.
Before his Thursday arrest, he had been accused of hiring a hitman to help
him commit suicide so his surviving son could cash in on a $10 million life insurance policy. He was charged with insurance fraud and filing a false
police report. He has not entered a plea in that case.
On Thursday, he was charged with two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Authorities allege that his insurance paid out $4.3 million in a wrongful death suit that followed the mysterious trip and fall death
of his longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Satterfield's family says
they never received the money, and authorities now allege that Alex Murdaugh took it.
RELATED: Maggie Murdaugh Saw a Divorce Lawyer 6 Weeks Before She and Her Son Were Murdered: Source
Alex Murdaugh, who has admitted to opioid addiction and gone to rehab, has
not entered a plea to the new charges.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and
Jim Griffin, said, "We have not seen the warrants but have been informed
that he is charged with two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses relating to the settlement proceeds from the Estate of Gloria Satterfield."
"Alex intends to fully cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that
his actions have distracted from the efforts to solve their murders."
The best of People
Get celebrity and royals news plus human interest stories delivered straight to your in-box
Visit PEOPLE.com