Murdaugh’s lawyers want $1 million-plus in his assets under state control to go to feds

Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh have moved for federal authorities to “immediately” seize all of their client’s remaining assets now under control by state receivers, according to a filing this week in federal court.

“The Murdaugh Funds are at risk of substantial dissipation and waste without the Court’s immediate action,” the filing says.

The filing indicates the amount of Murdaugh assets now under the control of state receivers is more than $1 million but doesn’t give an exact amount.

Murdaugh pleaded guilty last week to numerous financial fraud and theft crimes in a hearing Sept. 21 in a Charleston federal court before U.S. Judge Richard Gergel.

A day after the hearing, Gergel issued an order requiring Murdaugh to forfeit all his funds, but the order did not specify immediate forfeiture, nor did it specifically mention Murdaugh’s assets now being held in receivership.

The latest filing, made Monday, specifically targets Murdaugh’s money in the receivership and asks the judge not to delay in ordering immediate seizure.

In last week’s Murdaugh hearing, his lawyers told Gergel that legal fees will eat away at the funds under state control and it is better to put the money under federal jurisdiction because it can be distributed by federal authorities without any charge. Assets under receivers’ control in state court are subject to fees by private attorneys, they said.

“This Court convicted Mr. Murdaugh. No other court has convicted Mr. Murdaugh of any financial crime,” the motion says, underscoring their argument as to why federal authorities, and not state authorities, should have the say-so over asset disposition.

Murdaugh’s assets are now under control by state court-appointed receivers Peter McCoy, a former U.S. attorney for South Carolina, and attorney John T. Lay.

Neither could be reached immediately Tuesday for comment on whether they will voluntarily and quicklyl turn the money over to federal authorities.

Prosecutors from the S.C. Attorney General’s office are seeking to take Murdaugh to trial in state court on some or all of his financial crimes on Nov. 27.

The Attorney General’s office Tuesday said, “Following our policy, we have no comment because it’s pending litigation.”

In their motion, Murdaugh’s attorneys also said they seek an accounting of all of Murdaugh’s assets that have been seized.

Already, the filing said, the receivers “have disbursed $408,153.58 to themselves from the Murdaugh Funds.”

And, the filing said, the receivers are currently seeking an additional $253,294 for themselves.

In November 2021, a state judge ordered that Murdaugh’s assets be identified and put under the control of receivers.

At that time, Murdaugh’s financial crimes were just being discovered and a major civil lawsuit, now settled, was seeking millions in damages from him. Murdaugh had been named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the mother of Mallory Beach, a young woman killed in a boat crash in a craft driven by Murdaugh’s late son, Paul.

Murdaugh’s financial frauds total at least $9.5 million over more than 10 years and his victims include his law firm, clients and others, a federal prosecutor said last week in federal court.

Murdaugh, 55, is now serving two consecutive life sentences for killing his wife Maggie and Paul in a fatal June 2021 shooting at the family’s rural Colleton County estate.

Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster, recently received some $500,000 from his mother’s estate from the sale of Moselle in a deal signed off on by numerous lawyers seeking part of the proceeds from the sale.

This story was originally published September 26, 2023 at 12:55 PM.