COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina State Grand Jury has issued five indictments totaling nearly 30 counts against embattled attorney Alex Murdaugh, the state attorney general said on Friday.
Attorney General Alan Wilson made the announcement just before noon, listing 27 counts against Murdaugh, including four counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, seven counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, seven counts of money laundering, eight counts of computer crimes and one count of forgery.
Murdaugh had been suspended from practicing law in September by the State Supreme Court. That followed an alleged attempt to have someone kill him so that his son could collect a large sum in insurance money.
Indictments for Murdaugh span multiple counties. The first was out of Bamberg County and arose out of an alleged attempt to defraud victims of nearly $800,000 and launder the money. Charges there included four counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretense of $10,000 or more, three counts of money laundering of $100,000 or more, and a computer crime of $10,000 or more. The maximum penalty for the crimes range from 5 to 10 years in prison with fines in the hundreds of thousands.
The second indictment was set for a venue in Orangeburg County and arises out of an alleged scheme to defraud victims out of $125,000. In this case, he's charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent at $10,000 or more, money laundering at $100,000 or more, computer crimes of $10,000 or more, and forgery of $10,000 or more. Penalties range from five to 10 years in prison.
A third indictment set for a venue in Colleton County follows an alleged scheme to defraud victims of and launder $70,000. In this indictment, he was charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent of $10,000 or more and computer crimes of $10,000 or more.
The fourth indictment in Beaufort County alleges Murdaugh attempted to defraud victims of and launder nearly $3.5 million. In that indictment, he's charged with three counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses in an amount of $10,000 or more, three counts of laundering $100,000 or more, and three counts of computer crimes of $10,000 or more.
And the fifth and last indictment in Allendale County claims Murdaugh was charged with two counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent and two counts of computer crimes amounting to $10,000 or more. This indictment stems from an alleged scheme to defraud victims of and launder more than $380,000.
Among the five indictments, Murdaugh is accused of trying to defraud victims over more than $4.8 million. He remains in jail at the Alvin S. Glen Detention Center in Richland County.