The problems are piling up for former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, who on Tuesday added an additional 27 years in prison for financial crimes. The sentence is in addition to his life sentence without parole that was imposed on him a few months ago after a judge found him guilty of murdering his wife and his son in June 2021.
The new sentence was handed down this Tuesday, just after Murdaugh pleaded guilty earlier this month to more than two dozen state financial crimes. The Guardian reports that these include money laundering, tax evasion, forgery, conspiracy and breach of trust.
The son of Alex Murdaugh's housekeeper, among the plaintiffs
Before being convicted, Murdaugh had to face several former clients who accused him of exploiting them in an attempt to get more money. One of them is Tony Satterfield, the son of Gloria Satterfield. She worked for the Murdaugh family as a housekeeper and died after falling at the former lawyer's home. CNN revealed that after her death, Alex Murdaugh worked with the Satterfield family to sue himself and seek an insurance settlement for the Satterfields.
However, the family never received the money, which the former lawyer used to pay off several credit cards and loans. Tony Satterfield discovered this years later and decided to testify against him in court:
You lied, you cheated, you stole, you betrayed me and my family and everybody else. And you did it at the cost of my mom’s death.
Tony Satterfield and other victims were represented by attorney Eric "EB" Bland along with his partner, Ronnie Richter. He spoke to CNN after Murdaugh was convicted to explain what it felt like to learn of the conviction:
II just want you to know that we are very satisfied that this is a very, very strong sentence that has been agreed to by the parties. It sends a clarion bell signal to not only attorneys but to anybody who wants to victimize the vulnerable.
