COLUMBIA, S.C. — A state judge on Monday set a $7 million bond for suspended lawyer Alex Murdaugh in a hearing in Richland County court on 48 counts of financial misconduct that involved stealing millions from clients. The bond is one of the highest set in state history.
Murdaugh, 53, a member of a prominent Lowcountry legal family, has been jailed in Columbia since Oct. 16 and had been denied bond twice before in Richland County. Prior to his incarceration, Murdaugh was out of jail on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond in Hampton County. That bond was related to insurance fraud charges stemming from his confessed botched murder-for-hire suicide attempt.
Judge Alison Renee Lee said the surety bond would need to be paid in full, a distinction from a typical procedure in which a person could pay 10% of the bond and be released.
“I’m a little reluctant (to set bond at all), but I’m obligated by state law and the Constitution,” Lee said before setting the bond.
During the hearing, Murdaugh expressed remorse for his actions, saying he had “tarnished badly” his family’s legacy and that his actions had “hurt, deeply hurt, every single person that I cared about.” That includes his family, his late wife’s family, his former law partners, his clients, his friends, he said.
“I knew this business was going to humiliate me, humiliate my son (Buster), who is trying to be a lawyer, who is one of the best young men I’ve ever known, and deserves none of what he’s got dumped on him,” Murdaugh said.
Monday’s hearing was held virtually. Judge Lee prohibited any audio or video recording. Murdaugh, wearing navy scrubs, spoke from the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Murdaugh’s attorney, state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, indicated he would ask the judge to reconsider the amount, explaining that a $7 million bond is equivalent to “no bond’ because Murdaugh can’t pay.
Harpootlian had earlier in the hearing asked the judge to give Murdaugh a personal recognizance bond. Harpootlian noted that in 2014, former Lexington lawyer Richard Breibart, who swindled clients out of some $5 million, was allowed to go free on $100,000 bond before being sent to federal prison.
Moreover, Harpootlian said, Murdaugh is no longer in a position to hurt anyone because he is no longer a licensed lawyer.
“He has no access to any clients to steal any money ... his continued (alleged) commission of crime has been blocked by his inability to have clients,” Harpootlian said.
Judge Lee was unmoved. Murdaugh does pose a danger to the community, she said.
Earlier in the hearing, top state grand jury prosecutor Creighton Waters argued for a high surety bond, suggesting it should be in the $4.7 million range, or $100,000 for each of the 47 felony counts against him relating to his theft of client money.
Murdaugh is both a danger to others and a flight risk, said Waters, noting that the once-respected Murdaugh had been a person “at the height of power and influence and prestige” and his “fall from grace” could cause him to act in unforeseen harmful ways.
Murdaugh also has an opioid addiction, and that, added to his downfall, “heightens the danger to the community,” Waters said.
Murdaugh most likely can afford a sizable bond, Waters said, explaining that Murdaugh had been likely “engaged in efforts to protect assets from liability.”
In addition, Waters said, Murdaugh and his family still wield a lot of influence, and that influence could still be used to intimidate possible witnesses in his cases.
“Some of the victims have claimed a backlash,” Waters told the judge. “One victim was called a snitch. People are afraid to come forward. ... They need to see a strong message about how serious the system is taking these particular charges, regardless of the name this man carries and the family prestige.”
Waters continued, “It was the most trusting and most vulnerable that the allegations show this man preyed upon.”
Waters’ assertions about Murdaugh’s potential assets and ability to post a large bond were supported by Eric Bland, an attorney for the estate of Murdaugh’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. Bland told the judge that his lawsuit had uncovered evidence showing that in recent years, Murdaugh had written some $2.8 million in cashier’s checks to an associate, Curtis “Eddie” Smith, and no one knows where that money went.
The bond hearing was the first time Murdaugh has spoken publicly since his younger son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, were shot to death at their Colleton County home in June, an event that marked the beginning of Murdaugh’s fall from power and grace.
In his speech to the judge, Murdaugh apologized to the family of his former housekeeper, who is among the dozens of victims of the crimes discussed Monday. Satterfield’s sons, Brian Harriott and Tony Satterfield, attended the virtual hearing with their attorneys, Bland and Ronnie Richter. They filed suit in mid-September accusing Murdaugh of stealing money from their deceased mother’s estate.
To satisfy the Satterfield estate’s claims against him, Murdaugh will be filing a legal document, called a confession of judgment, in which he agrees he owes the estate $4.3 million, Harpootlian said during the hearing.
When their clients sued Murdaugh and his alleged accomplices in mid-September, they had four goals, the attorneys told the judge: to learn what happened, to get their money, to hold people accountable and to get an apology from Murdaugh. Those goals have now all been met, they said. And already, others named as defendants have agreed to pay Satterfield’s sons more than $7 million, they said.
And, Richter said, “as devout Christians, the Satterfield family is guided by their belief that in order for them to be forgiven by their Heavenly Father, they must in turn forgive others who have sinned against them.”
The bond hearing initially scheduled for Friday was postponed after seven new indictments were released Thursday evening, resulting in 21 new criminal charges against Murdaugh. He was already facing 27 counts of financial crimes from a Nov. 19 indictment by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office.
Among the conditions of Murdaugh’s bond, should he manage to put up $7 million, are GPS monitoring, house arrest, random drug testing, and drug treatment and counseling in South Carolina, Judge Lee said.
Veteran lawyer Jack Swerling of Columbia, who has 48 years of experience in state and federal criminal courts, said Monday the bond was the highest he had ever heard of in South Carolina.
“I have never heard of a $7 million surety bond. But it probably expresses the judge’s concern about his being a flight risk and what Alex Murdaugh’s assets have been,” Swerling said.
Waters summarized the 12 indictments against Murdaugh, saying he is charged with stealing some $6.2 million from clients and associates from October 2015 through 2020, Waters said.
“When added up, the potential penalties are 506 years [in prison] and about $3.5 million in potential fines,” Waters said.
Charges against Murdaugh involve 12 different victims, 47 felony charges and one misdemeanor:
— 15 counts of computer crimes
— 13 counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent
— 11 counts of money laundering
— Seven counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretense
— Two counts of forgery
The majority of the alleged victims are former clients or associates of Murdaugh’s, such as former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, a S.C. Highway Patrol officer who was injured on the job, and others who knew him or knew of his reputation. One was an undocumented immigrant.
The crimes have been linked to a bank account Murdaugh created and named “Forge” after a legitimate, Atlanta-based company that handles settlement disbursements. According to indictments, Murdaugh used the account to deposit stolen money and convert it for his personal use.
Murdaugh appeared before Judge Lee because the charges came from a statewide grand jury based in Richland County. The S.C. Supreme Court in September had designated Judge Clifton Newman to handle all Murdaugh’s criminal matters.
The bond comes after Murdaugh’s lawyers, Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, filed a response last week with the S.C. Attorney General’s Office arguing their client should be allowed bond. Newman had twice denied it, saying Murdaugh was “a danger to both himself and the community.”
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