Alex Murdaugh charged with two counts of tax evasion

Alex Murdaugh, the former South Carolina lawyer who is in jail for life for the killing of his wife and son in 2021, was charged with two counts of tax evasion by a state grand jury.

Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty in the shooting death of his son and wife after a high-profile trial concluded last month. The grand jury charged Murdaugh with two counts of tax evasion last Thursday, a court filing shows. 

He faces about 100 other charges. The charges range from claims of more tax evasion, accusations he stole money from clients as a lawyer, and ran a drug and money laundering operation. He is also accused of life insurance fraud, scheming to have his friend kill him and having a life insurance policy pay $10 million.

The two latest charges filed against Murdaugh come from his 2020 and 2021 tax returns, which prosecutors say show Murdaugh did not pay more than $130,000 in taxes that he was supposed to over the two years.

Murdaugh’s trial made national headlines, and the case of the killing of his 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul was at the center of a hit Netflix documentary, “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.”

At the trial, in which prosecutors argued Murdaugh killed his family due to cascading financial issues and then cleaned up the scene, Murdaugh denied the allegations. 

He was convicted in both of the killings and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is appealing the convictions. A trial for all the pending charges has yet to be set.