Law & Crime reports
After nearly six weeks of trial, we know Alex Murdaugh is a lot of things: an admitted liar, an admitted thief, an admitted drug addict who blames his addiction for his foibles. He’s definitely disgraced as a professional in light of all those admissions, and he was disbarred directly in response to his myriad financial high jinks spanning well over a decade.
But as for whether he’s a murderer or not – well the jury isn’t even out: They’ve still got closing statements to consider.
And though he just might not be convicted of murder, he’s still likely to face a substantial prison sentence for those financial crimes after admitting to several of them under oath last week.
During direct examination when he took the stand in his own defense, Alex Murdaugh admitted to vague financial theft and lies to paper over that theft. During the state’s lengthy cross-examination, which largely focused on those financial crimes, the defendant admitted to stealing from no fewer than 18 different clients over the years, as well as from the since-defunct law firm that used to bear his name.
Spread over 19 different indictments are 99 financial-related charges that include fraud, attempted tax evasion, money laundering, embezzlement, breach of trust with fraudulent intent, obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, computer crimes, forgery, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
According to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Alex Murdaugh bilked his victims out of at least $8.7 million over the years, a number that swells to roughly $9.3 when considering state taxes.
