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Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced South Carolina lawyer, conspired with another lawyer to steal $ 4 million from the children of his longtime housekeeper, who mysteriously died at the lawyer’s home in 2018, according to a lawyer representing their children.
“It’s hard to believe that a family can create this kind of trouble, you know? Eric Bland said of the mess he says was created for Gloria Satterfield’s family.
“Greed, power, betrayal. All the bad stuff. It’s like a Grisham novel. He doesn’t have to write fiction, he can just come to South Carolina and write the truth.
Bland filed a lawsuit against Murdaugh on Wednesday on behalf of Satterfield’s sons, prompting authorities to open an investigation into his death later today.
Bland said a lawyer for one of the defendants named in the lawsuit revealed the staggering sum on Thursday.
Satterfield, 57, died after Murdaugh said she tripped over her dogs, according to the lawsuit. She was in a coma for three weeks before she died and was never able to tell her side of the story, Bland said. No autopsy was ever performed, according to Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper, who told authorities on Wednesday the death was suspicious.
After Satterfield’s funeral, Murdaugh, 53, told his sons “he was going to take care of them” and agreed to pay them $ 500,000 after he sued for liability insurance, according to Bland’s trial.
“It’s so weird to think that someone is going to bring the litigants up to a lawyer and tell them I want you to sue me,” Bland said.
This lawyer, unbeknownst to the Satterfield family, was Alex’s roommate and best friend Cory Fleming, according to the lawsuit. Murdaugh is also said to have appointed non-family Chad Westendorf as the personal representative of the Satterfields in negotiations without the sons’ knowledge.
“You do this so that you don’t have to keep the family up to date with what’s going on,” Bland said.
“The regulations are starting to happen. Nobody talks about it to the family. They never found out. The only reason they found out is because of the reporters… started digging [after son Paul Murdaugh was arrested for a 2019 deadly drunk boating accident]”said the lawyer.
“At the end of 2020, our customers said, ‘Wait a minute. Mom’s claim settled for $ 505,000? We did not receive any of this money.
Bland said he learned Thursday that several insurers had in fact paid Fleming $ 4 million, and his clients had never seen a dime. He quickly sent a complaint to the state bar, he said.
Fleming did not immediately respond to The Post’s multiple interview requests.
Murdaugh surrendered to police on Thursday. He faces charges of conspiring to commit insurance fraud after admitting to orchestrating his own September 4 shootout – which he survived – to leave his son Buster $ 10 million in cash.
Paul and his mother, Alex Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, were found shot dead in June. The double murder is still under investigation.
Murdaugh quit his family law firm to enter rehab after being shot in the head, blaming opioid addiction and depression for his deranged plan to stage his own murder.
Bland said he hoped the investigation into Satterfiled’s death would reveal the corruption that would have allowed the family to pull the strings of justice in Hampton County for decades.
“This family was blameless, extremely powerful throughout the justice system, and they controlled all the actions of the public officials there,” Bland said.
“A lot of people must have been involved to accept this for this [settlement misappropriation] work.”
“There is a lot of sun on this case, which makes it an excellent disinfectant. I don’t think anything is going to be swept under the rug. Definitely someone will ask questions.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if his body is exhumed to examine the injuries and see if they correspond to a fall.”
Bland filed his complaint in Hampton County, but said he would request a change of location.
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