SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #5

[sunshineray]

Yep- usually cash retainers or legal bills paid in cash- also some clients still write their checks to the individual lawyer and not the firm! The minute I see one of those out comes my “for deposit only”stamp (I open all the mail)

this part of the Case fascinates me
JMO

Snipped by me for focus...

How could that work though if not a private firm but the Solicitor's Office?

Was AM a straight-up volunteer so then all the cases he worked on were pro bono?

If he was paid that would be tax payer's money. Wouldn't there be required checks and balances in place?

 

[Derph]

Just to be clear, Otto, the only info as to what Alex was doing that day, came from from what his brothers told Good Morning America producers. They paraphrased as, he had just taken his dying father to the hospital that day and then went back to his parents' home to check on his mother. We do not know what time he visited his mother and we do not know what time he got home. LE have not commented on the veracity of the alibi.

We know nothing else about the activities of any of the family members that day until the 'estimated time of death' and the time of the 911 call.

I don't believe one single thing that came out of their mouths. There is enough shady stuff going on here to keep law enforcement busy for years.

 

[Sunny Day]

South Carolina Family Murder Mystery Just Took a Crazy Turn

 

[muddlehead]

So far it’s only hearsay as to where he was. Hunting and the Hospital.

Again forgive me. Just too long to catch up.
It hasn't been factualized where he was at the time of deaths?
How can that be?

 

[BuckeyeGal]

I am surprised that MM had hired an accountant for their family finances. I own a family business and we have an accountant for the business and my husband and I have an accountant for our personal finances.

Also, was the theft recent? How were the law firms' finances not being audited to the point that it took a forensic audit to discover millions of dollars missing?

 

[Luna20]

Again forgive me. Just too long to catch up.
It hasn't been factualized where he was at the time of deaths?
How can that be?

That’s the whole crux of the case. No further info was released. And it seems most everyone accepted it due to the intimidation dynamic.

 

[Luna20]

No one wants this hot potato!! They're all wishing they could turn it over to someone else, jmo

Who will take the hit for being passive?!

 

[muddlehead]

That’s the whole crux of the case. No further info was released. And it seems most everyone accepted it due to the intimidation dynamic.

That's why I asked.
Everything else is noise until this can be answered.

 

[BuckeyeGal]

Would going into rehab prevent AM from being arrested if the police wanted to charge him with something? How does this work?

I don't think rehab would prevent any kind of LE questioning or arrests. IMO, since I can't link right now.

 

[Luna20]

That's why I asked.
Everything else is noise until this can be answered.

Apparently they didn’t press for the info for a reason. Much of this case is abnormal.

 

[Razz]

That's why I asked.
Everything else is noise until this can be answered.

Exactly. The only thing SLED has released was the redacted 911 phone the night of the murders from AM to 911. Other than that, they're not saying anything.

 

[MassGuy]

Alex Murdaugh enters rehab amid allegations of missing money from SC law firm

Griffin said there were entry and exit wounds from the bullet, and he described the injury as significant. He said he suspects the incident was a set-up, and that the gunman slashed Murdaugh’s tire and then followed the lawyer until he pulled over.

“He’s very lucky to be alive,” Griffin said.

The Post and Courier requested a report on the incident from the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office, but officials said Sept. 7 that the document would not be ready for another two days.

No arrests have been made in that shooting, and neither SLED nor the Sheriff’s Office have released any descriptions of suspects or the vehicle from which the shots reportedly emanated.

Murdaugh met with SLED agents and a sketch artist after his release from the hospital on Sept. 6 to produce composites of the gunman and truck from the shooting, Griffin said. So far, no drawings have been released to the public. Griffin said neither Murdaugh nor SLED were satisfied with the accuracy of the sketch of the gunman.

SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby would not say if agents met with Murdaugh, and he said the agency had no information to release about the vehicle or its driver.

 

[Cryptic]

A recent settlement was reported at $15 million and they had numerous other such suits in the pipeline according to information about the law firm posted farther back on this complicated thread. This company does not appear to be dependent on clients with quickie slip-and-fall suits.

We have different perceptions. The one article I read had CSX griping about a 300K settlement as opposed to the 100K standard.

Likewise, a local reporter found 70 locally originating cases filed by the firm pending on the county dockets at the time they checked. Given that the are no large companies in the county, a substantial majority of these would be car crashes and slipped and fell at the down home diner type stuff.

Also, I spot checked their advertised mega jackpot verdict wins (back when their website was up). None of the advertized verdict wins directly stated that millions were collected.

Rather, they were either silent on the amount collected or simply stated that the case was settled after being remanded by appellate court for an unstated amount- probably far smaller, and thus..... unstated.

As a side note, one hyped 1 million verdict award on their web site (they never said how much was actually collected- as usual) was from a local company with 10 employees.

 

[Countem]

Even without criminal charges being pressed by the firm, one can almost be certain the IRS is going to get theirs, which could include jail time should certain legal boundaries be crossed.

Yes! The IRS will certainly get their piece of the pie.

From what I have read, it was a substantial amount of money that was misappropriated. How long has this been going on. Wasn't this law firm ever audited?

Likely, there was no legal requirement for the firm to be audited, let alone on an annual basis. Many businesses operate without audits being performed, as it is typically only legally required for companies that are publicly traded; that receive certain or substantial federal, state, or other grant awards; that wish to receive certain funding from banks or other financial institutions; etc.

Also, as a financial statement auditor, I like to remind people that audits are not conducted to find fraud, but to opine on whether financial statements are materially misstated! (Obviously, auditors can be called in to specifically investigate fraud and conduct a forensic “audit,” which is being done now.)

Thank you @Countem for your important insights. Greatly appreciated!

I'd love to hear your thoughts concerning a situation where a lawyer has been "diverting lawyer fees from the firm".

Have you ever heard of this?

Thank you in advance,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/09/07/south-carolina-murdaugh-murders-resignation/

"Attorney Jim Griffin confirmed to The Post that Murdaugh had been accused of “diverting lawyer fees from the firm.”

I am not familiar with the inner workings of law firms. However, the attorney specifying “lawyer fees” indicates to me they are accusing AM of misappropriating funds paid to the firm for their legal services and not funds meant for their victorious clients.

Also, the term “diverting” implies to me that AM either orchestrated a method to divert funds paid for legal services from ever hitting the firm’s official bank account (perhaps by setting up his own account for the funds to be deposited into) or a method to transfer the funds after they were deposited into the official bank account (either through actual transfers or through fictitious vendors). It’s all still speculation at this point, though.

All responses are MOO.

 

[Luna20]

Alex Murdaugh enters rehab amid allegations of missing money from SC law firm

Griffin said there were entry and exit wounds from the bullet, and he described the injury as significant. He said he suspects the incident was a set-up, and that the gunman slashed Murdaugh’s tire and then followed the lawyer until he pulled over.

“He’s very lucky to be alive,” Griffin said.

The Post and Courier requested a report on the incident from the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office, but officials said Sept. 7 that the document would not be ready for another two days.

No arrests have been made in that shooting, and neither SLED nor the Sheriff’s Office have released any descriptions of suspects or the vehicle from which the shots reportedly emanated.

Murdaugh met with SLED agents and a sketch artist after his release from the hospital on Sept. 6 to produce composites of the gunman and truck from the shooting, Griffin said. So far, no drawings have been released to the public. Griffin said neither Murdaugh nor SLED were satisfied with the accuracy of the sketch of the gunman.

SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby would not say if agents met with Murdaugh, and he said the agency had no information to release about the vehicle or its driver.

He met with the agents but Tommy would not say if the agents did??

 

[muddlehead]

Exactly. The only thing SLED has released was the redacted 911 phone the night of the murders from AM to 911. Other than that, they're not saying anything.

This happened in June.

"Other than that, they're not saying anything." Huh?

Then what exactly is being discussed in the 4 1/2 threads here?

I'm thoroughly flummoxed.

 

[RAISINISBACK]

From the article:
“No hours were recorded by the Solicitor’s Office to account for how much work they did for the agency. Kidd said that was because the relationship was informal, and the Murdaughs did not prosecute many cases.”

The Solicitor’s Office apparently doesn’t know what cases were prosecuted (or supported) by their soon-to-be-disbarred volunteer attorney with an admitted longstanding addiction (rumored to be opioids) and accusations of embezzlement. AM served as volunteer solicitor since his father, RM, retired in 2005.

That’s why one keeps track of who worked which cases, even if they are “volunteers.”

BBM

The prosecutor was on opioids. I can see a lot of those convicted by him appealing.

JMO

 

[Derph]

My point is that Nancy's commentary is incorrect. Both Murdaugh and the firm said he resigned. Again, I'm sure the firm would have taken steps to separate Murdaugh had he not agreed to resign, but he did agree to resign, so they didn't have to do that.

Imagine that!!! Nan-nan wrong about something.

 

[MassGuy]

He met with the agents but Tommy would not say if the agents did??

His attorney offered that information up.

He’s pushing this narrative of a setup, and his client being lucky to be alive. He’s also trying to convey that his client is being cooperative, as the public would expect from an innocent man.

 

[Alkali13]

I'm late to the party as always! I've read some timelines and I'm through the first thread, so I'm going to try and get through the rest, but if anyone feels like giving me a tl;dr, feel free!