COLUMBIA, S.C. — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh did not tell the truth when FBI agents repeatedly asked him where the more than $6 million he stole ended up and whether an unidentified attorney helped him steal from clients and his law firm, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. court documents.
Prosecutors want a judge to rescind a plea deal with Murdaugh on robbery and other charges and sentence him to a maximum of more than 100 years in prison when he is sentenced Monday in Charleston, South Carolina.
Murdaugh, 55, is already serving life without parole in state prison after a jury found him guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of his wife and youngest son. He pleaded guilty to stealing money from clients and his law firm in state court and was sentenced to 27 years, which South Carolina prosecutors say is an insurance policy to keep him behind bars in case his murder conviction ever comes to an end. would be destroyed.
The federal case was supposed to provide even more certainty, with Murdaugh’s sentence running concurrently with his state sentences. But that deal is in doubt after the FBI said the disbarred lawyer failed to take a polygraph.
The test came in October, after three previous FBI interviews with Murdaugh led investigators to believe he wasn’t telling the whole truth about where at least $6 million he stole ended up and the role of an attorney who has not been publicly identified in his crimes. , federal prosecutors said.
In court filings, prosecutors asked for the polygraph test report and summaries of Murdaugh’s four FBI interviews to be kept from the public, saying a grand jury is continuing the investigation and that the information could be used to tamper with evidence or testify to influence.
Murdaugh’s attorneys did not respond to messages Tuesday. They have not filed a response with the court, although a footnote to the prosecution said they opposed keeping the polygraph report secret.
Federal prosecutors said Murdaugh appeared to be telling the truth about the role that banker Russell Laffitte and attorney and longtime college friend Corey Fleming played in helping to steal.
Laffitte was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Fleming will serve nearly four years behind bars after pleading guilty.
Each of the 22 charges to which Murdaugh pleaded guilty in federal court carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Some have a maximum term of 30 years. Prosecutors said they will seek the harshest possible sentence since the plea agreement was breached and will require Murdaugh to serve his federal sentence at the end of any state sentences.
They said there is a long history of federal law that does not allow Murdaugh to withdraw his guilty plea because he violated the terms of the deal.
Prosecutors estimate Murdaugh stole more than $12 million from clients by funneling settlement money into his own accounts or stealing from his family law firm. Federal investigators estimate that at least $6 million of that is unaccounted for, although Murdaugh has said he spent extravagantly on illegal drugs after becoming addicted to opioids.
Investigators said Murdaugh’s plans were about to come to light in June 2021, and he decided to kill his wife and son. Paul Murdaugh was shot several times with a shotgun and Maggie Murdaugh was shot several times with a rifle outside the family’s Colleton County home.
Murdaugh has adamantly denied killing them and even testified in his own defense against the advice of his lawyers.
When he pleaded guilty in federal court on September 21, it was the first time he admitted to a crime and promised to adhere to the requirements of his deal, which included “being completely honest and forthright with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities by providing full, complete and truthful information about all criminal activities of which he/she has knowledge.”
“I want to take responsibility. I want my son to see me take responsibility. I hope that by taking responsibility, the people I have hurt can begin to heal,” Murdaugh said, standing in his orange South Carolina prison jumpsuit.