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The former law firm for disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh is suing him, alleging he used a fake bank account to steal money from the firm and clients, adding to what has become a sprawling saga involving one of the state's most powerful legal families.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday after Murdaugh was forced out at Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, Detrick (PMPED) last month. The suit claims Murdaugh "used firm assets in an unauthorized manner and without the consent or knowledge of his former partners to further his scheme to defraud."
The firm discovered the alleged misallocation of funds in September when Murdaugh was found to have had a Bank of America account named "Alexander Murdaugh d/b/a Forge," with which he converted funds owed to the firm and clients for his own personal use, the lawsuit claims.
Alex Murdaugh appears for a bond hearing. (Fox News)
Murdaugh's attorney, Jim Griffin, called the lawsuit a "very sad development."
"Alex holds every member of the Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, Detrick law firm in very high esteem," Griffin said in a statement. "He has pledged his full cooperation to the firm."
To conceal his theft, Murdaugh disguised disbursements from settlements as payments to an "annuity company, trust account or structured settlement for clients or as structured attorney’s fees that he had earned, when in fact they were deposited into the fictitious account," the suit states.
At one point, someone at the firm found a check on Murdaugh's desk made out to him personally, not PMPED, which was subsequently deposited into his personal account, according to court documents. After that discovery, the law firm initiated a review of prior settlements Murdaugh had resolved.
Alex Murdaugh (Hampton County Detention Center)
The review revealed "numerous" checks payable to "Forge" or "Forge Consulting, LLC.," which told PEPED it had not provided any services for clients involved with the law firm.
Murdaugh was confronted about the revelations and eventually admitted to the scheme, the lawsuit says. He resigned on Sept. 3. A criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing.
PMPED said it reimbursed all its client trust accounts that lost money because of Murdaugh's actions.
The lawsuit is part of a series of civil and criminal actions against the embattled attorney. Murdaugh is being sued by the sons of his deceased housekeeper over a wrongful death settlement that was never paid. Gloria Satterfield's death is also being reviewed by state investigators.
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He is also charged in connection with a botched plot to arrange his own killing so his surviving son could collect a $10 million insurance payout.
In June, his wife and son, Paul Murdaugh, were shot dead and found outside their home. Paul Murdaugh was facing charges related to the boating death of a 19-year-old woman.
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