[UPDATE] Alex Murdaugh Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Money Laundering for Stealing Millions of Dollars

Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son, pleads guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.

The development was confirmed via a plea agreement signed on Monday and filed in South Carolina U.S. District Court. The plea agreement, which still needs to be approved by a federal judge, has Murdaugh accepting guilty pleas to the nearly two dozen charges against him.

Alex Murdaugh Pleads Guilty to Financial Charges

The charges include wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Most charges against the disgraced South Carolina attorney carry a maximum federal sentence of 20 years. However, four of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Murdaugh's plea agreement is related to an alleged scheme in which the defendant and a bank employee defrauded his personal injury clients and laundered more than $7 million of funds.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs said that Murdaugh's financial crimes were "extensive, brazen, and callous." As per CNN, he added that the defendant indiscriminately stole from his clients, his law firm, and others who trusted him.

Boroughs added that the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and SLED committed to investigating and prosecuting the suspect's financial crimes when they first surfaced. He noted that the plea agreement marks the fulfillment of that promise.

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After Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son at his South Carolina Lowcountry estate, he was sentenced to life without parole. However, the disgraced attorney remains entangled in several other state and federal cases where he faces more than 100 other charges.

Suppose the defendant complies with the conditions of the Monday plea agreement. In that case, federal attorneys have agreed to recommend that Murdaugh serve any prison sentence on the federal charges concurrent to any state sentence he receives for the same alleged crimes.

Taking Responsibility for His Actions

The 55-year-old disgraced attorney, despite being convicted in the killings of his wife and son, denies any wrongdoing in the murders that occurred in June 2021. In two days of testimony earlier this year, he insisted that he was innocent, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement, Murdaugh said that he wanted to take responsibility for his financial crimes and teach his surviving son how to take such a responsibility. He hopes his actions will start the healing process for the people he hurt.

Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh's lawyer, said that his client has cooperated with the latest developments and even apologized to the victims of his theft. The defendant did not argue with a single fact in the case and did not argue with his lawyer to push back on any allegation.

According to ABC News, the indictment against Murdaugh accuses the disgraced attorney of engaging in three schemes to obtain funds and property from his personal injury clients while working as a personal injury attorney at his Hampton, South Carolina, law firm from 2005 to 2021.