CHARLESTON, S.C. – Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former lawyer who is already serving two life sentences for murdering his wife and 22-year-old son, was slapped with another 40-year prison term on Monday for a host of financial crimes that he pleaded guilty to last year.
Murdaugh’s double murder conviction in 2023 was one of the most closely watched criminal cases in recent history. The federal 40-year term handed down Monday is in addition to another 27-year sentence Murdaugh received in state court for similar financial crimes.
Although federal prosecutors sought a 17 1/2 to 22-year sentence, US District Judge Richard Gergel opted for a far harsher term, the New York Post reported.
While imposing the sentence, Gergel said that Murdaugh victimized “the most needy, vulnerable people” — including a quadriplegic client, a state trooper injured in the line of duty, and a trust fund meant for children whose parents were killed in an automobile collision.
“They placed all their problems and all their hopes on Mr. Murdaugh and it is from those people he abused and stole. It is a difficult set of actions to understand,” Gergel said.
Murdaugh has consistently placed blame on an opioid addiction for his financials crimes, while continuing to deny murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in 2021 in an attempt to divert attention from his corruption.
However, the judge scoffed at his excuses, saying, “No truly impaired person could pull off these complex transactions,” which have gone on for the better part of two decades.
