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A national justice connected Monday is scheduled to condemnation Alex Murdaugh - the 55-year-old erstwhile lawyer already serving 2 beingness sentences for the murders of his woman and lad - for astir 2 twelve fiscal crimes pursuing his blameworthy plea past year, according to the US Department of Justice.
What should person been a straightforward sentencing hearing, however, could beryllium analyzable by prosecutors' allegation successful a question past week that Murdaugh failed a polygraph test, violating the presumption of a plea statement that required his honesty. Murdaugh denies the claim, and his attorneys asked the justice to disregard the government's question during sentencing Monday.
Murdaugh pleaded blameworthy past September to 22 national charges, including conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud and slope fraud, ligament fraud, slope fraud and wealth laundering aft national prosecutors accused him of defrauding his idiosyncratic wounded clients and namesake instrumentality steadfast of millions of dollars successful colony funds helium utilized for his idiosyncratic benefit.
Each complaint carries a maximum condemnation of up to 20 oregon 30 years, the US Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina said previously. In a filing past week, prosecutors recommended Murdaugh beryllium sentenced to betwixt 17.5 and astir 22 years successful prison.
The now-disbarred lawyer was previously sentenced successful authorities tribunal to 27 years for akin crimes aft pleading blameworthy to astir 2 twelve charges including wealth laundering, breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and taxation evasion. That's successful summation to the consecutive beingness sentences helium received a twelvemonth agone for his condemnation of the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul - killings authorities prosecutors formed arsenic a hopeless effort to distract from and hold investigations into his unraveling fiscal schemes.
While Murdaugh insists helium is guiltless of the murders, helium has admitted to the fiscal crimes, saying helium was maintaining a yearslong opioid addiction.
Whether the national condemnation imposed Monday is served concurrent with Murdaugh's authorities condemnation depends connected whether a national justice determines - arsenic prosecutors alleged - helium breached his plea statement by failing a polygraph test.
In speech for his blameworthy plea, national prosecutors agreed to urge Murdaugh's condemnation beryllium served concurrently with the 1 imposed successful South Carolina, tribunal filings show. But successful airy of the failed polygraph test, prosecutors asked the justice to merchandise the authorities from the presumption of the plea deal, freeing them from the work to urge a concurrent sentence.
At the aforesaid time, prosecutors projected a question to seal the polygraph introspection study and 4 FBI reports astir interviews with Murdaugh past year, saying each are related to an ongoing expansive assemblage probe and allegations of transgression enactment by different people.
Murdaugh agreed to the polygraph introspection arsenic portion of his plea woody - which explicitly required him to beryllium "fully truthful and forthright" - arsenic officials enactment to retrieve the millions of dollars helium bilked from his victims.
What precisely Murdaugh was asked and however helium responded is not publically known, though the government's filing indicates the introspection was conducted "on issues related to hidden assets and the engagement of different lawyer successful Murdaugh's transgression conduct." But the results of a two-part polygraph trial successful October 2023 indicated deception, the authorities claims, voiding the agreement.
Murdaugh's attorneys person asked the justice to either contradict oregon hold ruling to clasp their lawsuit successful breach of the plea statement until the polygraphs are provided to him, according to their ain sentencing memorandum Thursday.
They claimed the polygraph examiner engaged successful "odd conduct" to manipulate the results successful a mode that would void the plea agreement. That included allegedly sharing his content Murdaugh is guiltless of his wife's and son's murders, their filing said, and "'secretly' confiding" to Murdaugh helium had conscionable performed a polygraph connected Joran Van der Sloot, who confessed past twelvemonth to sidesplitting Natalee Holloway astir 2 decades ago.
Ultimately, Murdaugh's attorneys contend the government's behaviour anterior to the polygraph exam and the agent's behaviour during it "raises important concerns arsenic to whether the Government has acted successful bully faith."
Murdaugh's attorneys besides opposed the government's question to seal the evidence, arguing prosecutors had not adequately explained wherefore a "less drastic" action, similar redactions, would not beryllium sufficient.
US District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel connected Friday ordered prosecutors to record a redacted mentation of those documents, adding the tribunal understood wherefore the authorities wanted to support them sealed: A "detailed explanation" to warrant the sealing could undermine the ongoing investigation, the justice wrote.
However, Gergel besides indicated it was imaginable for sentencing to proceed Monday without divulging details from the documents the authorities wants to support nether seal.
(The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)
