Convicted double murderer Alex Murdau pleaded not guilty Wednesday to fraud-related charges for defrauding his deceased housekeeper of property and an insurance company out of about $3.5 million.
The disgraced South Carolina legal scion is working with another attorney over the death of Gloria Satterfield, 57, the family’s longtime maid, after a fatal fall on her property in 2018. He has been charged with conspiring to steal settlement money obtained fraudulently from an insurance company.
In addition to the scheme that buoyed Satterfield’s sons after his mother’s death, Murdau, 55, was acquitted of a total of 22 financial fraud charges, including fraud from several other customers and partners. claimed.
Despite the plea, Murdoh’s attorney told Judge Molly H. Cherry on Wednesday that he hopes things will change, suggesting a plea deal may still be in the works.
Attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harputrian told the court last week that Murdau was cooperating with federal investigators and expected the charges to be “quickly resolved without a trial.” Stated.
Prosecutors are grieving Satterfield so that Murdow, who was convicted in March of murdering his son and wife, can claim the home insurance he had taken out months before the “trip and fall accident.” He ordered his sons to press charges and said he orchestrated the plan. Incident. ”
He subsequently represented the children in the lawsuit, claiming that no settlement was reached. In fact, Murdow embezzled the payment without his knowledge, prosecutors said.
Satterfield’s children then took Murdow to court, and the family was eventually awarded more than $7.5 million in payments Murdow allegedly stole.
Nautilus Insurance also sued Murdau and alleged co-conspirator Cory Fleming over the scheme in May 2022, claiming the men lied about Satterfield’s death to prove responsibility and obtain compensation. claimed to have picked up
The incident has revealed a deeper mystery surrounding Satterfield’s death, which was initially described as a “natural death”.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Murdow had lied about important details in Satterfield’s death, including that the family’s dog was responsible for her death.
The South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement continues to investigate Satterfield’s death. Satterfield’s death should never have been ruled a “natural death”, the coroner said, because her injuries “do not match the injuries she received when she tripped and fell”.
In addition to 22 fraud charges, Mr. Murdow also faces about 100 state charges, including insurance fraud, tax evasion, and theft from clients and his family’s law firms.
Murdow is currently in custody at McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina, awaiting appeal of his double-murder conviction.
with post wire
