Alex Murdaugh faces new tax evasion charges: indictment
Alex Murdaugh, center, speaks with his legal team before he is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife and son at the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina on March 3, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News
Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh is accused of swindling his former law firm out of more than $2 million then failing to report the illegally earned income, according to a new indictment from a South Carolina grand jury.
The 54-year-old is charged with two fresh counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax.
In 2020, Murdaugh legitimately earned $1,147,342 from his former firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Elzroth & Detrick (PMPED)t hen stole another $1,112,734 from the firm and clients' settlement funds but never filed a tax return, the indictment alleges.
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He owes the state $67,624 for that year, the filing says.
In 2021 – the same year he murdered his wife, Maggie, 52, and his son Paul, 22 – he earned $86,069 from PMPED and allegedly embezzled another $1,000,333.
Again, he failed to file a tax return, allegedly robbing the government of $64,948.
The latest criminal indictment comes nearly two months after Murdaugh was found guilty of fatally shooting his wife and son to prevent his alleged financial crimes from coming to light.
He was sentenced to two life terms, which he is serving at McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina.
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But his legal troubles are far from over. Before the latest criminal indictment, the disbarred attorney was facing 99 counts of financial crimes across 19 indictments.
He is accused of stealing nearly $9 million from vulnerable clients and his former law firm, which was forced to change its name to Parker Law Group after his perpetual scandals left the company's reputation in tatters.
The storied firm was founded by Murdaugh's great-grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh Sr. who was also the first family member to become the top prosecutor of the Lowcountry region.
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Murdaugh is expected to go to trial on the financial crimes cases in the coming months.