May 24 (UPI) -- Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney who was found guilty of murdering his wife and son, was indicted Wednesday on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Murdaugh allegedly redirected settlement funds from his clients to personally enrich himself, according to the Justice Department. From 2005 to 2021, he allegedly sent the funds to his own accounts without his clients' approval, and also collected attorney's fees on fake or nonexistent annuities.
"Trust in our legal system begins with trust in its lawyers," U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs said in a statement. "South Carolinians turn to lawyers when they are at their most vulnerable, and in our state, those who abuse the public's trust and enrich themselves by fraud, theft, and self-dealing will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
In March, a jury convicted Murdaugh of killing his wife, Maggie, and adult son Paul in June 2021. The same jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the trial, prosecutors said he killed the victims in an effort to distract from his financial difficulties.
Throughout the trial and sentencing phase, Murdaugh continued to insist that he was not guilty of killing his wife and son, saying he left the two in a dog kennel on the property just before their deaths. Both bodies were found in the kennel.
Also in December a grand jury indicted Murdaugh for tax evasion for tax years 2011 through 2019. In that indictment out of Hampton County, the grand jury alleged that Murdaugh failed to report $6,954,639 of income earned through illegal acts.
Last month, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced new charges against Murdaugh for tax evasion. Those charges allege that the former attorney to report $2,113,067 of income.
