CHARLESTON, S.C. — Former attorney Cory H. Fleming is scheduled to plead guilty in federal court on Thursday, May 25, on a charge to commit wire fraud stemming from the case involving diverted insurance settlements to the estate of Gloria Satterfield.
Satterfield was the housekeeper to the Alex Murdaugh family who died in February 2018 after sustaining a fall at Moselle, the Murdaugh family home in Hampton County. In the aftermath of her death, Alex Murdaugh recommended that the Satterfield family hire Fleming to represent them in obtaining a settlement from Murdaugh's homeowner insurance policies "by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses."
Murdaugh’s insurance companies settled the estate’s claim for $505,000 and $3,800,000.
According to the indictment, Fleming allegedly directed the drafting of checks from the settlement funds held in his trust account to his personal bank account, fraudulently claiming that the funds were to pay for “expenses” related to the estate’s claim against Murdaugh. The information alleges Fleming knew the funds belonged to the estate, and the payments were not for legitimate legal expenses.
Fleming faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.