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Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for financial crimes, including fraud and money laundering. The latest sentences add yet another chapter to the already infamous Murdaugh saga. 

The sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel on April 1, 2024, followed Murdaugh’s admission that he defrauded clients and his former law firm of millions of dollars between 2005 and 2021.

According to Fox News, Judge Gergel’s ruling also requires Murdaugh to pay $8.7 million in restitution to his victims. The case was featured in the Oxygen true crime special Alex Murdaugh: Death. Deception. Power, which chronicled his rise and fall from legal royalty to convicted criminal.

“I do want you to know and all of the victims to know I am filled with sorrow,” Murdaugh said at sentencing. “I am filled with remorse. I am filled with guilt.”

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A Pattern of Deception and Greed

Federal prosecutors described Murdaugh as one of the “most prolific fraudsters” in South Carolina’s history. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Limehouse told the court, “We don’t believe he is capable of living a law-abiding life as a member of society.”

Judge Gergel called the crimes “reprehensible,” emphasizing the decades-long deception that targeted vulnerable clients, including accident victims. Prosecutors say Murdaugh’s greed funded a lavish lifestyle and sustained his addiction to opioids — with $6 million still unaccounted for.

Alex Murdaugh Murder of Wife and Son

The federal sentence will run concurrently with Murdaugh’s 27-year state sentence for similar financial crimes, handed down in November 2023. But even those decades pale in comparison to his life sentence for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on June 7, 2021, at the family’s Colleton County estate.

Prosecutors in that trial alleged that Murdaugh committed the murders to divert attention from his financial ruin and legal troubles. The double homicide gained massive national attention due to the Murdaugh family’s generations-long influence over South Carolina’s legal and political systems.

As CNN noted, the murder convictions have left Murdaugh serving life without parole, with no foreseeable release date.

A Controversial Lie Detector and Appeal Plans

Days before his latest sentencing, federal authorities revealed Murdaugh failed a polygraph test in October 2023, allegedly lying about the missing millions and implicating another attorney. Prosecutors said in a March 26 filing that Murdaugh’s deceit was “staggering” and used the results to challenge his plea agreement.

His defense team disputed the findings, accusing the examiner of “odd conduct” and criticizing the prosecution for sealing the results.

Meanwhile, Murdaugh’s lawyers — including Attorney Dick Harpootlian — have announced plans to appeal the murder convictions, claiming jury tampering by Colleton County Court Clerk Rebecca Hill, who co-authored a book about the case. However, Judge Jean Toal denied the motion for a new trial in January 2024, saying, “I simply do not believe that our Supreme Court requires a new trial on the strength of fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-seeking clerk.”