In yet another unbelievable legal move, disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh confessed judgment earlier this week in a lawsuit filed against him by his former law partner John. E Parker just last week.
This is the second time Murdaugh — who has been named a person of interest in the unsolved murders of his wife and son — has confessed judgment in the last week.
Yesterday, FITSNews reported exclusively that Murdaugh had confessed judgment in a lawsuit filed by his brother Randy Murdaugh IV for a total of $90,000 in unpaid debt.
“Confessing judgment” means a defendant is acknowledging the amount owed as a “valid and enforceable debt” — and authorizing the Palmetto State’s court system to enroll a judgment against him in that amount.
In the case of Parker’s lawsuit, the total amount allegedly owed by Murdaugh is $477,000.
Murdaugh’s confession was dated November 2, 2021 — but the document was not posted to the state’s public index until this morning. Murdaugh’s defense attorney Jim Griffin signed the document as his witness.
Murdaugh’s latest “confession” is likely to further stoke speculation that he is attempting to keep assets in the hands of his family and former law partners — prioritizing their ability to recover funds over other victims of his alleged financial crimes.
“This is so blatantly transparent,” a source tracking the Murdaugh financials told this news outlet. “For them to pull this sh*t, they have to be completely desperate.”
Click below to read the full document…
On Tuesday, Judge Daniel Hall ordered an asset-freezing injunction in connection with a wrongful death claim filed against Murdaugh and other co-defendants. Hall also appointed two receivers to manage and recover funds that could pay alleged victims currently suing Murdaugh.
Hall’s ruling came just two weeks after another South Carolina judge denied Murdaugh’s bond for charges related to the Gloria Satterfield case. Those charges stem from an investigation by South Carolina attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter — who uncovered a shocking paper trail showing how Murdaugh allegedly stole $3.6 million from Satterfield’s grieving family in her death settlement.
Alex and his surviving son Buster Murdaugh’s assets were frozen by the court following motions made by Tinsley, Bland, and Joe McCullough — who are all representing alleged victims of Alex Murdaugh. Alex’s latest move would essentially bump his brother’s claim above the victims’.
Several attorneys who spoke with FITSNews said it’s highly unlikely either of the confession of judgment documents will hold up in court.
“It’s clearly a fraudulent conveyance,” an attorney close to the situation told FITSNews yesterday. “It’s a brazen and blatant attempt to prefer a creditor over other legitimate creditors — because he’s family.”
Multiple attorneys who spoke with FITSNews said that the latest moves on behalf of the Murdaugh camp were unwise — to put it nicely.
“This is how stupid Alex and Randy are,”an attorney following the case told FITSNews. “Instead of giving a confession of judgment, all Alex had to do was not answer the complaint within thirty days of being served. Then Randy could move for an entry of default, and because the complaint states a sum certain, Randy could have asked the court to enter the judgment in that amount. It’s still shady, but it’s not so f*cking blatant.”
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Parker, a partner at Murdaugh family law firm — Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED) — filed a lawsuit Friday claiming he loaned Alex Murdaugh the following amounts:
- $150,000 on March 5, 2021
- $77,000 on May 19, 2021
- $250,000 on July 25, 2021.
Of interest? The last loan was made more than a month after the murders of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh.
Alex Murdaugh claimed to have discovered the bodies of his wife and youngest son on the family’s 1,700-acre “Moselle” hunting property on the Salkehatchie river (straddling the border of Colleton and Hampton counties) on June 7 2021 .
“Paul Murdaugh was reportedly killed by a pair of shotgun blasts — one to the chest and another which struck his arm and head,” this news outlet exclusively reported at the time, citing its network of law enforcement and prosecutorial sources.
This information has since been publicly confirmed by health officials as the cause of Paul Murdaugh’s death.
Maggie Murdaugh was reportedly shot and killed by a semi-automatic rifle at or around the same time her son was killed. Her cell phone was discovered the following day along a rural South Carolina road near where the killings took place.
According to Parker’s lawsuit, Alex Murdaugh has not paid him back for any of the loans.
In a memo filed Monday, attorney Mark Tinsley — who is representing the family members of Mallory Beach, the victim in the wrongful death case — argued that the two lawsuits “confirm that Buster Murdaugh and Alex are continuing to dispose of assets and cancel significant debts with apparent preference for family members without regard to potential claims of others.”
Buster Murdaugh is Alex’s surviving son.
“Since March 2021, Alex Murdaugh’s family and friends have given him at least $550,000 which is unaccounted for,” Tinsley said in the memo. “These facts raise questions of where Alex Murdaugh spent this additional $550,000 to whom he has given it, for what purposes, and was any benefit received in return.”
Indeed they do…
Mallory Beach Lawsuit
Alex Murdaugh and Buster Murdaugh are two of three remaining defendants in the Mallory Beach wrongful death lawsuit.
To recap, in February 2019, a highly intoxicated Paul Murdaugh was allegedly driving his father’s boat when 19-year-old Mallory Beach was killed in a horrific crash near Parris Island, South Carolina.
At the time of Paul Murdaugh’s death in June 2021, he faced three felony boating under the influence charges in that crash.
While the Beach family will never get justice in through the criminal court due to Paul Murdaugh’s death, their attorney Mark Tinsley has continued to fight for justice on the civil side.
In March 2021, Mallory Beach’s mother Renee Beach‘s mother filed the lawsuit against Alex Murdaugh, Buster Murdaugh, Parker’s 55 gas station and other parties that presumably settled.
Mallory Beach’s mother Renee Beach is seeking damages from Parker’s #55 gas station – where the underage Paul Murdaugh allegedly purchased alcohol prior to the crash – as well as from Murdaugh’s brother and father, who facilitated Murdaugh’s drinking, according to the lawsuit.
The focus of the civil suit isn’t simply who is at fault for Mallory’s death, it’s who is at fault for Paul Murdaugh’s alleged intoxication prior to the crash.
Law enforcement agents are currently pursuing at least seven active criminal investigations involving disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, his influential family or the powerful local law firm it founded – Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED).
One of those investigations is focused on possible obstruction of justice in the 2019 boat crash.
In July, attorneys representing Connor Cook dropped a petition alleging that law enforcement conspired to shift the focus of the investigation away from Murdaugh prior to him being ultimately charged with three felonies in connection with the crash.
Three generations of Murdaughs served as solicitors of the 14th judicial circuit from 1920-2006. In addition to their government jobs, the family has run the well-known Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Elzroth & Detrick (PMPED) law firm for more than 100 years in Hampton county, S.C.
Paul’s father, Alex Murdaugh, and grandfather, former solicitor Randolph Murdaugh, appeared at the hospital ten minutes after Paul Murdaugh, according to witness statements.
According to multiple victims and hospital employees, Alex Murdaugh appeared to be more concerned with “orchestrating” a plan in the criminal investigation than he was about finding Mallory Beach.
In fact, a security guard overheard Paul’s father on the phone saying “she’s gone, don’t worry about her” when Mallory Beach had only been missing for a few hours.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR..
Mandy Matney is the news director at FITSNews. She’s an investigative journalist from Kansas who has worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and South Carolina before making the switch to FITS. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island where she enjoys beach life. Mandy also hosts the Murdaugh Murders podcast. Want to contact Mandy? Send your tips to mandy@fitsnews.com.
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