CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A judge ruled against convicted murderer, fraudster and former attorney, Alex Murdaugh, in a civil insurance fraud case, and alleged conspirator in the scheme Cory Fleming is taking the claims to trial, maintaining innocence.
Nautilus Insurance originally filed the suit in order to recoup the $3.8 million. It says Alex Murdaugh obtained it by false claims when filing for life insurance for his late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Federal Judge Richard Gergel ruled in favor of Nautilus Insurance in their civil claim against Murdaugh for conspiracy, unfair trade practices and damages. The ruling comes at the request of the parties for a quick decision by the judge. Judge Gergel ruled against Murdaugh ordering $14.8 million in damages for this civil case.
Nautilus also named disbarred attorney and state and federally convicted fraudster, Cory Fleming, as an alleged conspirator in the civil complaint. Fleming is taking his case to trial.
Satterfield’s death happened on the Murdaugh’s Moselle property before Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s murders put the family in the spotlight.
In an insurance claim to Murdaugh’s company on behalf of Satterfield’s sons, Murdaugh said their mother tripped over the Murdaugh’s dogs and fell downstairs at work, leading to a head injury and her death.
On the stand, Alex Murdaugh admitted he fabricated the story about Satterfield tripping and falling over their dogs. He also admitted he is the one who convinced the Satterfield sons to file that claim against him, saying they would get paid for it, with the intent of stealing their payout money. He also admits to successfully getting that money.
After hearing this information come out, Nautilus Insurance filed their civil complaint against Murdaugh, and named Fleming and his law firm at the time as alleged conspirators for helping handle the claim.
At one point, Murdaugh’s lawyers suggested Satterfield’s sons be added as defendants in the complaint insinuating that they were mindful perpetrators of the scheme. Judge Gergel later denied that motion, and instead granted them a role as intervenors, or impacted parties, in the complaint.
Fleming is a former lawyer and convicted at the state and federal level of fraud in other Murdaugh money schemes. He says he and his law firm helped facilitate the Satterfield insurance payout, but he didn’t know it was fraudulent.
During pre-trial motions, Judge Gergel talked multiple times about how he had seen Murdaugh and Fleming before in his courtroom. He explained the difference of opinion between the federal court, and he himself has of the two. Gergel referenced how the federal prosecution gave Fleming credit for pleading guilty to other fraud crimes, and Gergel took that into consideration, giving Fleming a lighter sentence for his admitted role, than Murdaugh in some of their other schemes.
Gergel also strongly advised Nautilus to drop their ‘injury’ charge against Fleming, saying he understands how the Satterfield family suffered injury as they were unknowingly involved in the scheme and their expected money was stolen, but he doesn’t see how the company suffered. He called the injury a “tag-along” charge and “overkill”, on top of nearly a dozen others including multiple breaches of contract charges. Nautilus’ lawyers asked to confer with the company before submitting final charges ahead of the trial scheduled for Monday.
Judge Gergel has allowed Fleming to appear in street clothes during his trial, despite currently serving a sentence for federal and state crimes. Gergel denied a dozen pre-trial motions, saying most seemed like attempts to “over-regulate” the trial, and he will handle any legal questions as they come up.
Monday, the court plans to select ten jurors and proceed with testimony. Witnesses scheduled to appear include Chad Westendorf, Amy Miller and H. Fred Kuhn.
Westendorf was the representative for the Satterfield estate with Palmetto State Bank in 2018 at the time of the housekeeper’s death. Nautilus named him and the Bank as a defendant in their complaint originally but later dropped both and Westendorf is now set to appear as one of their witnesses.
Lawyers expected the trial to last no more than a few days.
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Murdaugh ordered to pay in civil insurance complaint, alleged conspirator goes to trial
