SC judge sends Murdaugh’s alleged accomplice Curtis Smith to jail for breaking bond [The State]
A
Judge
Newman, in a hearing at the
“I apologize for taking up your time,” Smith, who was wearing a light grey dress shirt and a tie, told the judge Thursday in
Meanwhile, in a surprise development in the ongoing Murdaugh saga, that occurred before Smith’s bond hearing, Waters brought a new defendant into the case:
Roberts was in court Thursday for a bond hearing himself on two white-collar charges of getting COVID-19 unemployment insurance illegally and insurance fraud. Roberts was arrested Monday as law enforcement served search warrants on three properties in
The search warrants turned up a gambling den, a Glock gun, drugs and cash, Waters said.
Roberts was at the gambling den property, he said.
Newman set bond at
Roberts’ attorney,
During a 10-minute bond hearing for Roberts, Waters said Roberts is “part of the investigation down in the Lowcountry” — a reference to various financial and drug crimes that Murdaugh has been charged with, according to sources familiar with the case.
“Roberts received downstream a substantial number of checks allegedly originating from Alex Murdaugh,” Waters told the judge, adding that search warrants not yet made public in Roberts’ case allege that he participated in illegal acts involving “a substantial amount of narcotics.”
Waters did not elaborate, but sources familiar with the case said that law enforcement believes Roberts was a key part of a pipeline that funneled drugs to Murdaugh through Smith. The sources asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The pipeline is believed to have worked this way, sources said: Murdaugh would give checks of stolen money to Smith, who would cash them. Then Smith would give the cash to Roberts, who would use the cash to buy drugs that Roberts would then give the drugs to Smith, who would give them to Murdaugh, the sources said.
“This is an ongoing investigation. There is a lot more that’s being explored and that is to include a substantial amount of drugs,” Waters said.
Roberts has not yet been charged with any Murdaugh-related crimes.
Judge revokes Curtis Smith’s bond
Smith, 62, is accused of drug trafficking and running a longtime money laundering scheme that involved some
Prosecutors described Smith’s crimes as engaging in a money laundering operation, whereby Murdaugh over the course of several years then gave Smith some
Much of that money went to buy drugs for Murdaugh, who remains in jail on a slew of financial-related charges and also weapons and murder charges in the
Smith has denied the charges.
During the 31-minute hearing for Smith, Waters quoted Smith’s statements at the June bond hearing about his financial condition.
“He said, ‘I ain’t got no money — twice,’” Waters told the judge.
But in fact, on the day when Smith said that, he had some
Moreover, Smith had strayed from the boundaries during his house arrest to places like Walmart and “various private residences” where he was not supposed to be under the bond conditions, Waters said.
Last month, Smith was given a
“This is a man of limited means,” Bouchette said.
Smith has also been paying down debts with much of the money, Bouchette said, adding that Smith’s entire life savings is about
“We certainly did not mean to imply or misrepresent anything to the court,” Bouchette said.
Newman told Bouchette Thursday that Smith “has an obligation to be candid with the court and not misrepresent anything to the court.”
He went to Walmart to get medicine, said Zmroczek, a
“Since some of his work is not traditional work, there clearly needs to be more communication about where he’s going,” Zmroczek told the judge.
Zmroczek also said she and Bouchette had “a serious come-to-Jesus meeting” with Smith about where he can and cannot go and how he has to check in with authorities when he goes to unapproved places.
Smith suffers from serious medical conditions and they could get worse if he is put into jail, Zyrockzek said.
“A bond revocation at this point your honor would be harsh, a harsh punishment, for people who didn’t have a sufficient understanding (of the bond terms),” Zmroczek said.
Besides Smith, two other men — both longtime friends of Murdaugh’s — face criminal charges that they were involved in helping Murdaugh steal money from clients and associates.
One friend is
Another is
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