Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh faces 27 new charges, accused of stealing over $8.8 million
Four new indictments were issued Friday against once-prominent lawyer Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina Attorney General's office announced. The 27 new charges outlined in the indictments include breach of trust with fraudulent intent and computer crimes.
At the time of the announcement, the 53-year-old Murdaugh was in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia. The latest charges add to the dozens he was already facing, including breach of trust with fraudulent intent, obtaining property by false pretenses, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery. Those charges were filed in November and December of last year, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's office.
The new indictments allege Murdaugh defrauded his victims of $2,657,016.12. When added with his previous indictments, Murdaugh is now accused of stealing $8,875,944.45.
Murdaugh has been accused of stealing money from his former law firm, planning his own death so that his son could get a life insurance payment and defrauding the family of his former housekeeper who died after falling in his home in 2018.
The South Carolina Supreme Court banned him from practicing law in September.
In June of 2021, Murdaugh's wife and their 22-year-old son Paul were found dead at their South Carolina home. The investigation into their deaths is ongoing. No one has been charged.