Alex Murdaugh Accused of Money Laundering as Part of Oxycodone Smuggling Scheme

Embattled South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has been indicted again, this time in connection with an alleged eight-year money laundering and painkiller ring with the former client who is accused of trying to help him commit suicide.

According to documents unsealed on Tuesday, Murdaugh allegedly wrote 437 checks worth $2.4 million that Curtis "Eddie" Smith cashed over eight years. Prosecutors allege that Murdaugh kept some of that money for himself — but also used some of the money to fund a "distribution network" of the painkiller oxycodone.

The indictments allege that Murdaugh wrote almost all the checks to Smith for less than $10,000 to avoid federal requirements that banks report large transactions.

Both Murdaugh and Smith have been charged with possessing, manufacturing or distributing narcotics. Neither suspect has entered a plea to the most recent charges.

Murdaugh, 53, made national news in June 2021 when he came home and found his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son, Paul, 22, gunned down on their 1,770-acre estate in the small town of Islandton, S.C. The mother and son had been shot with two different guns and were found outside the home, near the dog kennels.

Murdaugh is a person of interest in the murders, according to his attorneys. He has not yet been charged in connection with their deaths. Authorities haven't named any additional suspects or made any other arrests.

Murdaugh also faces a litany of charges for alleged financial crimes, including misappropriating money from his law firm, defrauding clients of funds, and computer crimes. Authorities allege that he defrauded the family of his former housekeeper of a $4.5 million insurance settlement after she died in a mysterious slip-and-fall accident at his home.

After the murders, Murdaugh made news again when he allegedly tried to stage his own death so that his other son, Buster Murdaugh, 26, could benefit from a $10 million life insurance settlement. He was criminally charged in connection with the botched suicide-for-hire plot and is awaiting trial in that case.

According to prosecutors, he had Smith shoot him on the side of the road, but the shooting was unsuccessful and Murdaugh suffered only superficial wounds. Smith has pleaded not guilty in connection with that case.

Suspended from practicing law, Murdaugh now faces 81 criminal charges -- and prosecutors continue to investigate his activities. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges except for the most recent and is jailed on $7 million bond. His attorneys did not immediately return PEOPLE's calls for comment.