Murdaugh initially told his insurance companies that Satterfield tripped over his dogs and fell down the front porch stairs. He secured over $4.3 million in wrongful death settlement funds, but funneled it all to a personal account. He later recanted on the dogs being the cause for the fall.

In his motion to vacate the confession, Murdaugh admitted that he lied to his insurance companies to secure a higher payout, but contends that he was not truly liable in Satterfield’s death, claiming she fell due to medical conditions and side effects of medications she was taking at the time.

Murdaugh argued that his original confession should be void because it wrongfully blamed the fall on the dogs.

The response by Satterfield's lawyers compares Murdaugh's motion to "a spoiled child... overindulged and undisciplined."

It goes on to say that his actions have "wasted this Court's time and have unnecessarily caused the further victimization of the Satterfield family."

The motion also includes several documents from around the time of Satterfield's death, including approvals of the insurance payouts. Those documents do not mention the dogs as the cause for death, so Satterfield's lawyers argue that even if Murdaugh lied about the dogs being the cause, the payouts should not be void.

Ultimately, the motion accuses Murdaugh of trying to game the judicial system to avoid paying back money he stole:

"When it served Murdaugh to parade the Confession before Courts as a sign of his magnanimousness and contrition, he did so.10 When Nautilus said in effect, 'thanks for admitting you stole the money we paid to you beneficially for the Satterfields, we would like it back now,' he reversed course and now seeks to disavow the same Confession. The goal of judicial estoppel 'is to prevent a party from playing 'fast and loose' with the courts, and to protect the essential integrity of the process.' Who has played faster or looser with the Courts than Murdaugh?"

The motion argues that the Satterfields are entitled "to sanctions against both Murdaugh and his legal counsel in order to punish their conduct and deter such similar abuses of the Plaintiffs and the legal system going forward."

Editor's note: This story is breaking and may be updated.

The hearing was quick – lasting approximately five to 10 minutes. Surrounded by US Marshals, Murdaugh was seen wearing an orange South Carolina Department of Corrections jumpsuit with handcuffs on his wrists and chains around his waist and ankles inside the federal courthouse.

Wednesday’s hearing came one week after a federal grand jury handed down new indictments on a slew of charges connected to alleged financial crimes which consisted of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.

Many of the charges carry up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million each.

His attorney, Jim Griffin, told Judge Molly Cherry that his client was pleading not guilty – but he noted that Murdaugh may change his plea at a later date.

News 2 spoke with Murdaugh’s defense attorney Dick Harpootlian after he left the courthouse.

“We believe that comments should be constrained to in the courtroom – that’s the rules. That’s the rules we operate by. Some folks choose not to follow those rules. We do. So, the response will always be …. No comment.”

His attorneys say he may change his plea at a later date.

DEVELOPING...

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh is expected to face a judge on Wednesday afternoon as he faces a slew of federal charges connected to alleged financial crimes.

The appearance comes one week after he was indicted on charges related to schemes to defraud clients, friends, and his family’s law firm out of millions of dollars over a period of more than 15 years.

Specifically, the 28-page indictment details an alleged plan to defraud clients out of money from 2005 until 2021 when Murdaugh was arrested on state charges.

It’s just the latest round of charges for Murdaugh who was convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son in March. He is serving a life sentence in a South Carolina prison.

The former attorney is accused of stealing more than four million in a wrongful death settlement from the estate of his family’s former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, after her death at the Murdaugh’s home.

The indictment also details that Murdaugh received help from former attorney and close friend Cory Fleming, who pleaded guilty to similar charges last week.

Murdaugh’s attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian released a statement after the new indictments were handed down on May 24 saying, “Alex has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys' Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities. We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial.”

Wednesday’s hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. inside a Charleston courtroom.

The charges stem from Fleming's involvement in a scheme to defraud the estate of Murdaugh's former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, out of over $4,000,000 in a wrongful death settlement.

“In February 2018, Murdaugh’s housekeeper passed away after a fall at Murdaugh’s home. Murdaugh recommended that the housekeeper’s estate hire Fleming—then a personal injury and criminal defense attorney in Beaufort—to represent them and file a claim against Murdaugh to collect from his homeowner’s insurance policies. Murdaugh’s insurance companies settled the estate’s claim for $505,000 and $3,800,000,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Fleming and Murdaugh are accused of misappropriating the funds, which they diverted for personal use.

He faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Judge Richard Gergel told Fleming that the plea will not supersede the state case against him and that the sentences could run concurrent.

A sentencing hearing is expected at a later date.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina provided details of three alleged schemes in which Murdaugh is believed to have obtained money and property from his personal injury clients.

In the first scheme, the indictment alleges that from about September 2005 until September 2021, Murdaugh devised a plan to defraud and obtain money by means of false pretenses. It says that he routed and redirected client’s settlement funds to personally enrich himself by:

• Drafting, or directing law firm employees to draft, disbursement sheets to send settlement funds to Murdaugh’s accounts without proper disclosure or client or law firm approval;

• Claiming funds held in the law firm’s trust account as attorney’s fees and directing the disbursement of those funds for his benefit;

• Claiming and collecting attorney’s fees on fake or nonexistent annuities;

• Creating fraudulent “expenses” that were never incurred on client matters and directing the disbursement of settlement funds to pay the cited costs, including claimed medical expenses, construction expenses, and airline expenses;

• Directing other attorneys with whom he was associated on client matters to disburse attorney’s fees directly to him, rather than appropriately routing the fees through the law firm; and

• Intercepting insurance proceeds intended for beneficiaries and depositing them directly into his personal account.

In the second scheme, Murdaugh is accused of conspiring with his banker, Russell Laffitte, to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

“The indictment alleges that Murdaugh and his law firm asked Laffitte to serve as personal representative or conservator for numerous personal injury clients. Laffitte collected over $350,000 in fees as personal representative or conservator for Murdaugh’s personal injury clients,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its announcement.

Murdaugh is accused of directing law firm employees to make settlement checks payable to “Palmetto State Bank.” Those checks were then delivered to Laffitte, whom Murdaugh directed to use the settlement funds for his own benefit – to pay off his personal loans and for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.

Laffitte was convicted on six federal charges last November, including conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud for his role in this scheme. He is awaiting sentencing.

Finally, in the third scheme, Murdaugh is accused of creating a bank account in the name of “Forge,” presenting as a legitimate corporation for structuring insurance settlements. 

“Murdaugh was the owner of and the only authorized signer on this “fake Forge” account.  The indictment alleges that from in or around May 2017 through at least July 2021, Murdaugh funneled stolen personal injury settlements through the “fake Forge” account.  Murdaugh is charged with 14 counts of money laundering for using the transactions in the “fake Forge” account to conceal the proceeds of his fraud,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote.

The indictment further alleges that, from in or around February 2018 until at least October 2020, Murdaugh conspired with a personal injury attorney in Beaufort to defraud the estate of Murdaugh’s former housekeeper and Murdaugh’s homeowner’s insurance carriers. 

In February 2018, Murdaugh’s housekeeper died after a fall at Murdaugh’s home.  Murdaugh recommended that the housekeeper’s estate hire the Beaufort attorney to represent them and file a claim against Murdaugh to collect from his homeowner’s insurance policies.

Authorities say Murdaugh’s insurance companies settled the estate’s claim for $505,000 and $3,800,000.

The indictment alleges that Murdaugh and the personal injury attorney conspired to siphon settlement funds, disguised as “prosecution expenses,” for their own personal enrichment. It goes on to allege that Murdaugh directed the Beaufort attorney to draft checks totaling $3,483,431.95 made payable to “Forge.” 

Murdaugh then deposited the checks into his “fake Forge” account and used the funds for his own personal enrichment.  The estate did not receive any of the settlement funds.

Murdaugh faces the following charges:

• One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000;
• One count of bank fraud, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000;
• Two counts of wire fraud, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000;
• Three counts of wire fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000;
• One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000; and
• Fourteen counts of money laundering, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

"Alex has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys’ Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities. We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial.,” said attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin.

A judge ruled that the Department of Corrections has to make Murdaugh available for a deposition in the civil lawsuit filed by the Beach family. That means lawyers from both sides will get to ask the convicted murderer questions about the crash and his role in an alleged attempted cover-up to protect his son Paul, who was drunk and driving the boat that night.

No time has been set for that deposition. The trial is supposed to begin on Aug. 13.

Murdaugh allegedly attempted to get the passengers aboard the boat that night to hide the fact Paul was driving the boat.

Video in several documentaries shows Alex walking room to room in the hospital that night to talk to all the passengers. Several also said in depositions that Alex tried to bring into question if Paul was driving and instead, that his friend Connor Cook may have been behind the wheel.

Paul was charged after the crash with two counts of boating under the influence causing severe bodily injury and death. Those charges were dropped after he was murdered in June of 2021.

Alex was convicted of murdering Paul and Alex's wife, Maggie, by a Colleton County jury in March of 2023.