A special court appointed referee has divvied up what’s left of Alex Murdaugh’s known assets, roughly $1.8 million. Most of the money will go to the victims of a boat crash that became the catalyst for the once-powerful Lowcountry attorney’s downfall.
The order issued Monday by Greenville attorney Walt Tollison distributes nearly half the money to the victims of that 2019 Beaufort County crash in which Mallory Beach was killed and Murdaugh’s son Paul allegedly drove drunk. The prosecution used the crash last year during Murdaugh's double murder trial to show he was a desperate man when he killed Paul and his wife Maggie in 2021.
Also getting about a quarter of the money is Murdaugh’s former client Arthur Badger. Murdaugh promised to help Badger after his wife was killed in a 2011 crash with a UPS truck. Instead, Murdaugh pocketed settlement money meant for the newly widowed father of six.
The order also names Murdaugh’s former law firm and its new president as recipients.
“In a perfect world, there would be unlimited funds,” attorney Tollison said in the order. He added that some of Murdaugh’s financial crimes victims have been fortunate to have already recovered money, some more than their loss.
Prosecutors believe Murdaugh swindled at least $12 million from more than a dozen people over a decade. The victims include personal injury clients, colleagues, and friends. He was sentenced to 27 years in state prison last fall after pleading guilty to some of the state’s more than 100 financial crimes charges against him.
Murdaugh also pleaded guilty to similar crimes in federal court last year but has yet to be sentenced. He’s currently serving two life sentences for the murders of his wife and son. Last week, a judge denied his motion for a new trial based on allegations of jury tampering.
