麻豆原创

Just days after convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh was ordered to pay almost $15 million to Nautilus Insurance Co., his friend and co-conspirator is set to start trial in a civil suit brought by Nautilus for his role in the alleged fraud.

Prominent South Carolina attorney Murdaugh, in a sensational case that had been followed worldwide, was convicted in 2023 of killing his wife and son. He also pleaded guilty to 27 counts of financial crimes that came as part of a violent, downward spiral that also included the death of his family’s longtime housekeeper.

Last week, after Murdaugh admitted conspiring with his friend and fellow South Carolina injury attorney Cory Fleming to defraud Nautilus, a court ordered Murdaugh to pay $14.8 million in damages to the insurance company. Now, Fleming, who also to helping Murdaugh steal millions from the insurance settlement, begins trial in Charleston in the federal civil suit over the same fraud, according to local news reports.

The Murdaughs’ housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, reportedly fell to her death on the steps of the family’s hunting camp in 2018. Murdaugh claimed his dogs tripped the woman and he convinced her family to file a claim against his umbrella liability policy. When Nautilus, a W.R. Berkley company, defended Murdaugh and paid $3.8 million on the claim, Murdaugh and Fleming then siphoned most of the proceeds for their personal use, court documents allege.

Nautilus attorneys have argued that the insurer was injured and deceived, and the excess and surplus carrier is accusing Fleming of civil conspiracy and negligence. Fleming’s legal team has said that Nautilus had time to investigate the claim and never found evidence of fraud, WCSC TV news has .

But the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper in June that a Nautilus insurance agent and two attorneys had raised suspicions about the Satterfield claims. Those concerns were revealed in federal court documents and in emails obtained by the newspaper. Still, the agent said it would be difficult to prove fraud, and the carrier settled with Satterfield’s estate.

After the criminal prosecutions of Murdaugh and Fleming, Nautilus had the evidence it needed and filed suit. Fleming’s trial began Monday and is expected to last less than a week, news sites have reported. The Nautilus amended complaint can be seen here. Murdaugh’s umbrella policy is here.

Photo: Fleming at his sentencing in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard)

Topics Lawsuits