The FBI says convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh lied about where more than $6 million of stolen client money went, and about whether an unnamed attorney helped him steal it.
Murdaugh is already serving two consecutive life terms for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, both of whom he denies killing. Murdaugh did, however, plead guilty to stealing money from his clients and law firm, which resulted in a 27-year prison sentence, meaning he will be incarcerated even if his murder conviction is overturned.
The federal government also sought to prosecute Murdaugh, who pleaded guilty last year in federal court to money laundering and various fraud charges, the Associated Press reported at the time. Now the feds want to revoke their part of the plea agreement, claiming Murdaugh lied because he failed a polygraph test, the results of which have not been released, according to the AP.
Murdaugh failed the test in October, which was given because the FBI already suspected he had lied in his previous three interviews with the bureau. Federal prosecutors argued in court documents to keep the polygraph test and the summaries of its interviews with Murdaugh out of the public eye. Murdaugh’s defense attorneys reportedly oppose this, as prosecutors said in a footnote.
Polygraph tests are not permitted as evidence in court because they are notoriously unreliable.
Murdaugh admitted to stealing around $12 million from clients over the years after promising to help them with medical bills or pain and suffering. One victim, Jordan Jinks, had been a friend of Murdaugh’s since they were children. He asked Murdaugh to represent him after he incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills for a neck injury resulting from someone rear-ending his car.
Jinks paid the bills, assured that Murdaugh would obtain a settlement to refund him. When Murdaugh received that settlement, he kept the money for himself.
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“The money you stole from me, I would have gave it to you,” Jinks said during Murdaugh’s sentencing. “Why bro? Why?”
While taking responsibility for the financial crimes, Murdaugh adamantly denies killing his wife and son.
“I want to take responsibility. I want my son to see me take responsibility. It’s my hope that by taking responsibility that the people I’ve hurt can begin to heal,” Murdaugh said when pleading guilty in September.
His defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, noted at the time: “There’s two things Alex will tell you. One, he stole the money. Two, he did not kill Maggie and Paul.”
This article has been updated to show that it was Murdaugh who failed the polygraph test, not the unnamed attorney.