HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Alex Murdaugh reportedly paid over $100,000 to Curtis Smith over a six-month period between 2020 and 2021, despite Murdaugh denying any sort of meaningful relationship between the men.
Smith was Murdaugh’s accomplice in an elaborate insurance fraud scheme orchestrated by Murdaugh, in which Murdaugh allegedly hired Smith to shoot him so that his son, Buster, could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.
The plan failed, and a complicated web of secrets involving Murdaugh began to unravel.
The latest revelations include Murduagh being indicted by a Grand Jury on multiple counts of money laundering, among other charges, and a paper trail of payments totaling $164,000 made by Murdaugh to Smith.
Murdaugh claimed that he and Smith hardly had any relationship, calling him a prior legal client and drug dealer, despite Smith claiming that the men are cousins and friends.
“To hear what has been said publicly, you would be led to believe that there is no business relationship whatsoever. I don’t know what business they were involved in that would involve the payment of $164,000 in six months,” said Ronnie Richter, one of the attorneys representing the Estate of the Murdaugh’s former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Satterfield died following an alleged trip-and-fall accident at the Murdaugh’s home and Murdaugh is accused of embezzling over $4 million of a life insurance settlement meant for her sons.
Richter continued, saying much of the money paid to Smith appeared “to be off book,” as it was in the form of cashier’s checks for values just under the $10,000 mandatory reporting threshold.
Richter says that he is “highly confident that at least some of that money was Satterfield money.”
News 2 reached out to Murdaugh’s attorneys for comment on this matter, but we have yet to hear back.