Satterfield family adds Bank of America to lawsuit

Attorneys for the family and estate of Gloria Ann Satterfield say they have added finance giant Bank of America to an ongoing civil suit involving former prominent Hampton attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh.

Satterfield, a longtime housekeeper for the Murdaugh family, died in February 2018 after a reported "trip and fall" accident at the Murdaugh home in Colleton County.

According to indictments by the South Carolina State Grand Jury and the S.C. Attorney General's Office, Murdaugh then allegedly orchestrated a scheme where he encouraged Satterfield's heirs to file a wrongful death suit against his insurance company, after which he allegedly stole as much as $4.3 million from the Satterfield estate.

Murdaugh is facing criminal charges in that matter, and on Sept. 15, Michael "Tony" Satterfield and Brian Harriott, Satterfield's sons, filed a personal injury suit against Murdaugh and other parties who allegedly aided him in this insurance scheme.

The amended complaint to this suit, which the Satterfields' attorneys say was filed in Hampton County Court of Common Pleas on Monday, adds Bank of America to the list of defendants in this lawsuit.

The Hampton County Guardian learned of the suit through a statement Monday from Eric Bland, of Bland Richter LLP, attorneys for the Satterfield estate. Bland told The Guardian that while the suit was filed Monday morning, it had not been electronically posted yet, but he provided a copy to reporters.

"We all recognize the significance of adding Bank of America to this action," Bland stated in the release. "They are a banking behemoth as they are the largest bank in the United States and one of the largest in the world. A true David and Goliath battle lies ahead. But the two young men, their aunt and two uncles are the five smooth stones that the [Bible] references. God will be the slingshot."

When contacted for comment, Bank of America spokesperson Bill Halldin issued the following statement:

"There is no basis for this lawsuit and we are asking the court to dismiss it. Make no mistake, the wrongdoer here was Mr. Murdaugh, and the diversion of these funds occurred away from Bank of America. We had no knowledge of any theft and followed standard procedures in account openings for a sole proprietor business."

Halldin said Murdaugh established a sole proprietor account using his Social Security number, which is how most customers do it in accordance with South Carolina law. Halldin provided The Guardian with links to the bank's website detailing how to establish an account.

The amended suit highlights the alleged role that Bank of America played in numerous, complex financial schemes allegedly orchestrated by Murdaugh, who is now facing more 30 counts of financial crimes.

"Appropriately, Bank of America now sits at the defense table with Alex Murdaugh to defend its establishment of the fake 'FORGE' accounts that became the vehicle Murdaugh used to launder millions and millions of stolen dollars," Bland said. "Without Bank of America, this could not have happened for so long and hurt so many people. ... Had Bank of America followed their own guidelines and acted reasonable under the circumstances, Alex Murdaugh could never have accomplished his scheme over so many years."

To date, Bland Richter has reported more than $7.7 million in settlements from the case, including settlements from Lowcountry-based Palmetto State Bank and Murdaugh's former law firm, as well as other parties allegedly involved.

In the introductory paragraph of the amended suit complaint, the Satterfield attorneys allege that Bank of America "aided and abetted" Murdaugh's financial crimes and money laundering and add:

"By flexing their own rules and ignoring banking customs, BOA helped Murdaugh establish his fake Forge accounts, which Murdaugh funded with stolen money from the Plaintiffs, as well as other victims and/or PMPED clients. Once he was in possession of his ill-gotten gain, Murdaugh engaged in other suspicious banking conduct which BOA should have identified."

The suit alleges that, from one of Murdaugh's accounts, he issued 17 cashier's checks to "Charles E. Smith" (named in warrants as Curtis Edward Smith) totaling $164,748.76.

Murdaugh also allegedly "transferred huge sums of stolen money from his fake Forge accounts to a personal checking account, which Murdaugh also established at BOA." From one such account, Murdaugh separately issued 254 personal checks to Smith totaling $1,825,560.95, the suit claims.

Murdaugh and Smith were indicted by a Hampton County grand jury regarding a fake suicide-for-hire attempt in Hampton County over the Labor Day weekend.

Smith, 61, was charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Murdaugh was charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, along with filing a false police report.

The 162-page amended complaint, which includes numerous exhibits but only names Murdaugh and Bank of America and has removed all the parties that reached settlement agreements, lists as causes of action conspiracy, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting fraud, gross negligence, and unfair or deceptive acts of commerce.

"The public has been instrumental in the investigation and prosecution of these claims to date," Bland said. "Just as with the prior claims that have resolved, we are confident that members of the public have key information about the facts and circumstances of these claims and we urge them to come forward with their knowledge."

Murdaugh is detained in the Richland County detention center facing multiple criminal charges and civil lawsuits.