Court records show Alex Murdaugh paid for Georgia funeral home; director says loan paid
Richard "Alex" Murdaugh funded the purchase of a funeral home in Brunswick, Georgia, in 2020, according to new legal filings involving the suspended South Carolina attorney accused in a slew of financial crimes and civil actions, but the buyer says that the transaction was a friendly loan that has been repaid in full.
As Murdaugh remains in Columbia's Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on a $7 million bond — facing 78 criminal charges and nine civil suits — court filings are revealing more about his assets, previous financial transactions and business relationships while accused of being at the center of a multi-county, decade-long financial crime spree.
This latest legal filing suggests that Murdaugh loaned more than $110,000 to a client and a friend, John H. Martin, owner of Martin's Funeral Home in Estill, for the purchase of a second funeral home in Georgia.
On Tuesday, Amy L.B. Hill, a Columbia attorney representing co-receivers John T. Lay Jr. and Peter M. McCoy Jr., filed a "Motion to Compel Subpoena Response From Martin's Funeral Home" in the Hampton County Court of Common Pleas.
The motion was attached to a wrongful death suit filed against Murdaugh and others by the estate of Mallory Beach in relation to a February 2019 Beaufort County boat crash. Beach, 19, was killed in the crash.
In connection to that suit, Lay and McCoy were court-appointed as co-receivers to determine what Murdaugh's assets are, where they may be allegedly hidden, and control those assets through the creation of a fund for alleged victims and their pending civil suits.
The motion states evidence shows Murdaugh personally funded the Georgia funeral home purchase by Martin. The information discovered includes wiring instructions to Southeastern Bank in the amount of $110,253.76 on Jan. 14, 2020, from Alex’s personal checking account, the motion states.
The motion adds, "A cursory review of Alex’s financial records does not indicate that John Martin has repaid Alex for the purchase that occurred in January 2020 although it is clear that John Martin operates a funeral home both in Estill and Brunswick, Georgia."
The motion to compel requests that Martin's Funeral Home respond to its subpoena, which was served on Jan. 27.
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"This was a personal favor, not an investment," Martin told The Guardian. "That money has been repaid. Alex Murdaugh doesn't have anything to do with Martin's Funeral Home. He doesn't have any assets or liabilities in my business. I worked too hard for this funeral home."
Attached as exhibits to the motion are the subpoena documents, as well as the bank wire transaction details, which indicate that the request for funds from Palmetto State Bank in Hampton was received and verified by former Palmetto State Bank manager Russell Laffitte.
Murdaugh allegedly used at least two banks in South Carolina to orchestrate his financial schemes, allegedly stealing more than $8 million from his former clients, partners and other attorneys. Laffitte, who is under investigation by the state Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel in connection to the Murdaugh case and was terminated from his position at the bank on Jan. 7, issued a Jan. 27 statement that he is cooperating with the investigation. Laffitte has not been indicted on any charges as of Friday.
Martin family responds
Martin's Funeral Home is a family-owned business that started out as one location, in Estill, South Carolina, in 1989 by John Martin and his wife, Deborah Singletary-Martin, according to its Facebook page.
When contacted by The Hampton County Guardian, both Martins addressed the recent legal filing and subsequent press coverage as "slanderous." Both were shocked and angered that they were in any way connected to this ongoing Murdaugh crime saga.
The Martins say that Murdaugh is in no way connected to their business, they have repaid the loan through Palmetto State Bank, and they also provided financial documents to The Guardian that they say proves the loan is paid in full. The documents provided also show they have recently responded to the subpoena on April 28, they said.
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On Friday, April 29, the co-receivers filed a letter to Hampton County Clerk of Court Mylinda D. Nettles formally withdrawing their motion to compel, stating that Martin's Funeral Home had responded and satisfied their subpoena requests and a hearing was no longer necessary.
"The sad thing about this whole scenario is that no one did any forensic accounting of Alex Murdaugh's accounts before they did this [court filing]," Deborah Singletary-Martin said. "They [the co-receivers] should have gotten those documents from the bank, instead of slandering John Martin's name and the funeral home's name... I am floored by the way this was conducted."
Martin said that he and a friend were at an estate sale in Brunswick, Ga., in January of 2020 when he bid on a property at the last minute. This property included a funeral home, their other parcels of property, a 2004 Cadillac hearse and a 2005 Cadillac limo, documents provided by Martin show.
Martin won the bid around 2 p.m. that day but needed the money by closing at 4 p.m., so he called his attorney, Murdaugh, to arrange to borrow the money. Martin also uses Palmetto State Bank, he said, and Murdaugh had been his attorney for quite some time, although Martin said he had never borrowed money from Murdaugh before. Murdaugh also defended Deon Martin, John and Deborah's son, in a case involving an automobile accident, and now stands indicted on charges he stole from Deon Martin's settlement, among others.
Murdaugh agreed to wire the money, and since then it has been repaid from Martin's personal bank accounts and 401K accounts, Martin said.
Martin is not only a longtime funeral home owner and operator, he has been an active member of the South Carolina Morticians Association. In 2012, the late Senator Clementa Pinckney of Jasper County proposed a resolution honoring Martin upon his selection as the 2011 Professional of the Year by the South Carolina Morticians Association, Inc.
Martin retired from Hampton County School District 2 in June of 2015, where he served as attendant supervisor of transportation, athletic director, basketball coach, football coach and worked with the facilities, maintenance and custodial departments. He also served on the Hampton County Transportation Board, according to the South Carolina Senate resolution filed in his honor.
Read more about Martin here:
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Hampton Co. funeral home director says loan from Alex Murdaugh repaid
