Murdaugh, friend Cory Fleming facing new indictments in housekeeper’s death settlement

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Alex Murdaugh and fellow attorney Cory Fleming have been indicted on new charges by a state grand jury in connection with the settlement in the death of Murdaugh’s housekeeper.

Gloria Satterfield died in a fall at Murdaugh’s home in 2018. Her sons say they haven’t received any of the millions of dollars they’re owed in her death settlement.

Satterfield’s sons hired Fleming, Murdaugh’s former college roommate, as their first attorney in a wrongful death lawsuit. They said Fleming never told them a settlement was reached in the case and they found out from a newspaper article.

According to the indictment filed on Mar. 10, Murdaugh and Fleming worked together to steal millions from insurance companies, Satterfield’s sons, and her estate.

“Instead of compensating Gloria’s sons for her death, Murdaugh instead converted all of the money to his own personal use, for expenses including but not limited to car payments, loan payments, cash and checks written to associates,” the indictment states.

Fleming is indicted on 18 new charges including money laundering, computer crimes, criminal conspiracy, false statement or misrepresentation in connection with an insurance transaction and breach of trust.

He was suspended from legal practice in October 2021.

Eric Bland, the attorney for Gloria Satterfield’s sons, released the following statement Wednesday morning about the new indictments:

“It’s a golden day for justice. A sad day for our legal profession. My partner Ronnie Richter and I are proud of what we have been able to accomplish on behalf of our clients, the Satterfields. Nothing Cory Fleming or Alex Murdaugh did at the two hearings in front of [the judge] benefited my clients. It was all done to benefit Alex Murdaugh and Cory Fleming themselves. A lawyer should never put his own interest over that of the clients...

We are very proud of SLED, the Grand Jury and the Attorney General’s Office. They have been dogged, persistent and are seeing this through to the end and making sure that everyone who is involved in these dastardly crimes be held accountable.

I think the Grand Jury has spoken loudly and clearly that Cory Fleming was not another one of Alex Murdaugh’s victims and did not believe his defense that he was too trusting of Alex.”

In an interview in September, Bland told FOX Carolina News that Satterfield’s sons trusted Murdaugh to help advise them after their mother’s death and considered themselves extensions of the Murdaugh family.

Satterfield was a housekeeper for Murdaugh’s family for more than two decades.

Murdaugh was also issued new, superseding indictments on Mar. 10 for breach of trust with fraudulent intent, money laundering, computer crime and forgery in connection with an injury settlement for a South Carolina highway patrolman.

During a bond hearing for Murdaugh in January, trooper Thomas Moore said he was injured on the job and Murdaugh acted as his attorney.

“He stole every dime I had,” Moore said. “He has willingly and blatantly took money that he knew was not his.”

According to the new indictments, Murdaugh deposited a $125,000 settlement proceeds check meant for Moore into a personal bank account.

Murdaugh is facing a total of 75 charges in alleged schemes to defraud victims of more than $8,492,000.

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