COLUMBIA, S.C. — A distinguished South Carolina lawyer has been charged with stealing insurance policies settlements meant for the sons of his late housekeeper that a lawsuit explained whole more than $4 million, state law enforcement reported Thursday.

Alex Murdaugh was arrested at a drug rehab facility in Orlando, Florida, where his lawyers reported he has used the past 6 months given that boasting he was shot in the head on the facet of a lonely highway near his property, authorities stated.

The arrest is the latest growth in 6 condition police investigations into Murdaugh, like the deaths of his wife and son, thousands and thousands of dollars missing from the enormous law business launched a century in the past by his terrific-grandfather and seeking to organize his very own loss of life so his surviving son could acquire on a $10 million lifestyle insurance coverage.

Thursday’s arrest on two felony counts of obtaining house by false pretenses consists of Murdaugh’s housekeeper for decades, Gloria Satterfield, the State Law Enforcement Division claimed in a assertion.

Murdaugh advised Satterfield’s sons at her February 2018 funeral that he would get insurance plan settlements for her loss of life and consider care of them, in accordance to a lawsuit submitted by the sons. Murdaugh managed to secure far more than $4 million from his insurers, but he only instructed the sons about a $500,000 settlement and then never despatched them a dime, the lawsuit said.

Murdaugh took the settlement funds by generating a fraudulent financial institution account with a identify comparable to a authorized consulting company that handles settlements, the lawsuit said.

Satterfield’s family members identified as it a bittersweet day in a assertion produced by their attorneys.

“Avarice and betrayal of belief are at the coronary heart of this make a difference,” lawyers Eric Bland and Ronald Richter mentioned in their statement.

The Murdaugh loved ones advised the sons their mother tripped over the relatives dog and died months afterwards from her lingering accidents. The demise was in no way documented to the Hampton County coroner, who questioned state police to investigate why she was not identified as to evaluate what she would contemplate an accidental loss of life.

The sons also took Murdaugh’s suggestions to seek the services of legal professional Cory Fleming to be executor of their mother’s estate without having telling them Fleming was a longtime mate, outdated faculty roommate and godfather to at the very least 1 of Murdaugh’s sons.

The regulation licenses of both equally Fleming and Murdaugh have been suspended as the investigations proceed.

Murdaugh is being held at the Orange County jail in Florida to await extradition, investigators stated. His attorneys promised at a bond listening to on distinctive costs very last thirty day period that Murdaugh would return to South Carolina devoid of a battle if billed with more crimes.

Murdaugh’s legal professionals stated in a assertion that he “intends to entirely cooperate with this investigation, as he has with the investigation into the murder of his wife and son. He deeply regrets that his actions have distracted from the efforts to resolve their murders.”

The fatalities of Murdaugh’s son and spouse at their Colleton County property in June keep on being unsolved. Murdaugh reported he found Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul, 22, shot to loss of life immediately after he returned residence from traveling to his father in the clinic, according to authorities.

In September, Murdaugh was charged with insurance coverage fraud and other counts after reporting that his head was grazed by a bullet when an individual attempted to shoot him.

Curtis “Eddie” Smith is charged with firing at Murdaugh. He explained to The Affiliated Press previous thirty day period that Murdaugh asked for his support on Sept. 4 but didn’t tell him he required Smith to shoot him until he was on the side of the highway.

Smith stated the gun went off as he attempted to protect against Murdaugh from capturing himself. He bristled at solutions from Murdaugh’s attorneys that he was a drug vendor, expressing he was superior mates with Murdaugh after the lawyer aided him in a worker’s compensation case.

“With a mate like that, who requires enemies?” Smith informed an AP reporter as he limped close to his home.

Smith explained last month that he wasn’t positive if the bullet strike Murdaugh or not, declaring he grabbed the gun, quickly drove away and ditched the weapon.

In an job interview with The Today Clearly show aired Thursday, Smith mentioned he was 1,000{2099cc1b97d4d5af6b378c51833a8c0e04bb5da587377bd6b2cb473fa3104767} certain Murdaugh was not shot.

“There was no blood on me there was no blood on him,” Smith said.

Murdaugh’s lawyers have said they observed health care records showing Murdaugh was covered in blood when taken by helicopter to a hospital but have not revealed them to the public.

The Thursday arrest is just one more move in the extensive method for justice in all of the investigations, Condition Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel said in a statement.

“As I have mentioned formerly, we are fully commited to following the facts anywhere they may possibly direct us and we will not stop until eventually justice is served,” Keel explained.