On Wednesday, convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh appeared in a South Carolina court and pleaded not guilty to a host of federal charges related to financial crimes he admitted to during his murder trial.
Murdaugh was indicted last week for schemes to steal millions of dollars from clients, friends, and his family’s more than 100-year-old law firm, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The 28-page indictment says the crimes occurred from 2005 until 2021, when he was arrested on state charges.
WCBD reported that Murdaugh could change his not guilty plea at a later date.
Murdaugh was convicted in March of gunning down his wife Maggie and son Paul and was sentenced to two life sentences.
According to the indictment, Murdaugh’s friend and fellow attorney Cory Fleming helped him in his money-grubbing schemes. Fleming pleaded guilty to similar charges last week.
Murdaugh’s attorneys — Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian — issued a statement when the indictments were returned on May 24 noting that Murdaugh “has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys Office and federal agencies,” according to WCBD.
“We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial,” the statement said.
Murdaugh admitted to many of the financial charges against him on the stand during his murder trial, saying he devised the schemes to pay for a long time drug habit.
Murdaugh has appealed his murder conviction, insisting that he did not kill his wife and son.
The disgraced former lawyers has also been sued by multiple parties, some related to the financial crimes and others related to the death of Mallory Beach, who was killed when the boat his son Paul was driving while drunk smashed into bridge pilings. Murdaugh’s attorneys tried to convince the jury that Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered because of the boat crash and not because his financial crimes were unraveling, as prosecutors alleged.
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[Featured image: Alex Murdaugh/South Carolina Department of Corrections]
