https://wlos.com/news/local/alex-murdaugh-will-be-sentenced-in-federal-court-for-financial-crimes-on-monday-doj-united-states-department-of-justice-district-conspiracy-wire-bank-fraud-money-laundering-south-carolina-sc-wciv

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Alex Murdaugh, the former attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son, is scheduled to be sentenced for his financial crimes on Monday.

In September 2023, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and money laundering. He received a 27-year sentence in state court for these financial crimes.

Murdaugh's federal sentence hearing for these charges will be held at 10 a.m. at the United States District Courthouse, 83 Meeting St. in Charleston, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to the DOJ, United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel will impose the sentence.

The US Attorney's Office is pushing for a consecutive sentence added on top of Murdaugh's state sentence for his financial crimes. This will require Gergel to grant federal prosecutors' motion to be let out of their plea agreement obligations to Murdaugh.

Federal prosecutors promised to recommend a less severe sentence for Murdaugh if he was truthful and cooperative with them. This week, they moved to rescind the deal based on Murdaugh's failure of a polygraph examination.

Murdaugh's federal sentencing guidelines, as set by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services (USPPS), calls for a concurrent 210-260 month term, which would be 17-21 years running at the same time as his state term. He is expected to serve 22 years of his 27-year state sentence for substantially the same / similar financial fraud crimes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Limehouse said in a Thursday court filing that a key tenet of the push for a consecutive sentence beyond Murdaugh not being truthful is the discovery of $1.3 million in additional stolen money and 11 more victims not previously known to the public, . Those newly revealed thefts and victims increase Murdaugh's tally to over $10.9 million stolen and over 25 victims.

Limehouse says the additional thefts aren't part of Murdaugh's state sentence from November 2023. On their own, they would likely get Murdaugh a federal sentence of 9-11 years.

Gergel notified Murdaugh's attorneys and the federal prosecutors on March 15 he may apply an "upward variance" for Murdaugh's sentencing irrespective of the USPPS sentencing recommendations, meaning he is considering a harsher sentence.

Murdaugh's lawyers argue their client's conduct does not meet criteria for such an upward variance.

Murdaugh is currently serving a life sentence for the 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. He was convicted in March 2023 and his motion for a new trial was denied earlier this year.