In a courtroom decision handed down on Thursday, Cory Fleming, a disbarred attorney and one-time close associate of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, was given a 20-year prison sentence. His transgressions were tied to a series of state charges that involved collusion with Murdaugh to pilfer millions from their unsuspecting clients.
Presently aged 54, Fleming expressed his guilt openly in the Beaufort County courtroom just last month, confessing his complicity in the illicit plot. Murdaugh had referred two clients to Fleming, enlistment in the elaborate scheme to relieve them of their funds.
The lion’s share of the embezzled fortune came from an insurance payout that Fleming had arranged on behalf of Gloria Satterfield’s estate. Satterfield, once a housekeeper in the Murdaugh family household, tragically lost her life after a fall at the residence in 2018. Investigators have recently decided to revisit and reevaluate the circumstances surrounding her untimely demise.
In addition to this, Fleming stands accused of misappropriating funds intended for the family of Hakeem Pinckney who suffered a severe car crash injury in 2009, leading to his death two years later. Legal representatives posit that the settlement sum meant for both the Satterfield and Pinckney families was redirected to a spurious bank account for Murdaugh and Fleming’s personal use.
Fleming, resolutely, must pay for his crimes, said Judge Clifton Newman in delivering the sentence. Newman pointed out how Fleming exploited his position as a trusted legal advisor to manipulate and take advantage of his vulnerable victims.
Before the state charges, Fleming had already begun serving a federal sentence amounting to three years and ten months, having pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. As part of a plea deal, he has committed to assisting state and federal prosecutors.
Back in the striped prison uniform for his sentencing, Fleming displayed openness and remorse for his deeds. “The fault is mine,” he admitted to the court, expressing both disappointment in himself and an understanding of the gravity of his wrongdoings, feelings that he anticipated would linger lifelong.
In spite of requests from Fleming’s attorney for a sentence identical to his federal term, Newman issued consecutive 10-year sentences for the state charges – one for each family wronged.
The Satterfield family attorneys, Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, expressed their satisfaction with the course of justice, stating the verdict brought some resolution to the gross misdeeds Fleming committed against Gloria Satterfield’s estate and her progeny.
Murdaugh is under appeal for the murders of his wife and adult son. In a new development, his legal team have just last week requested a hold on the appeal process in an effort to obtain a fresh trial for Murdaugh following charges of jury manipulation. No decisions have been announced regarding the motion for retrial.
Currently, Murdaugh is serving two life sentences in a South Carolina state penitentiary. In the forthcoming week, he is due to stand before a federal court judge and expected to plead guilty to almost two dozen charges in relation to financial fraud. Murdaugh’s defense team have indicated that he might collaborate as part of a plea agreement.
Murdaugh is also due to face trial in November on the initial count of 101 state charges, with victims’ total estimated losses nearing $8.8 million as cited by the prosecution team.
During his murder trial, Murdaugh admitted to numerous offenses, which the state presented as evidence of his deceitful nature. This resulted in his former law firm colleagues testifying how they had begun to unravel his web of lies and theft in the period preceding the murders.
The former attorney, adorned once again in the bright orange jumpsuit of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, was back before Newman, the very same judge who, five months prior, meted out his current life sentences. Murdaugh received his date of trial for the financial crimes he committed, affirming through his lawyers the trial date set for late November in Beaufort County for the charges involving the theft from Satterfield’s estate.
