Lawsuit names Curtis Smith in lawsuit involving Murdaugh, Bank of America

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Curtis Smith has been named in a lawsuit involving Alex Murdaugh and Bank of America.

The lawsuit was filed by the Bland Richter law firm who represents the estate of Gloria Satterfield, Murdaugh’s former housekeeper whose death led to a death settlement which Satterfield’s family says they never received, and prompted a lawsuit implicating Murdaugh in the lost funds.

Smith, who was indicted in a failed suicide-for-hire scheme along with Murdaugh, was added to a lawsuit against Bank of America in which lawyers allege that the company bent the rules and ignored banking customs for Murdaugh in connection to an alleged money laundering scheme.

That suit was filed earlier this week.

The lawsuit states that Murdaugh issued 17 cashier’s checks to Curtis Smith totaling $164,748.76, and separately issued 254 personal checks to Smith totaling $1,825,560.95.

According to the suit, Bank of America should have identified these and other transactions lawyers described as “suspicious,” and claimed that the company made “significant” fees from Murdaugh’s account.

Bank of America released a statement on the suit on Monday:

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. Additionally, contrary to what the lawsuit claims, South Carolina law allows sole proprietor businesses to open bank accounts with a Social Security number.

Also on Thursday, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the South Carolina State Grand Jury had issued seven indictments consisting of 21 new charges against Murdaugh.

According to the attorney general’s office, these new indictments charge Murdaugh with nine counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, seven counts of computer crimes, four counts of money laundering and one count of forgery.

The indictments involve alleged schemes to defraud victims of $1,365,440.24, a press release by Wilson stated. Prosecutors say when combined with the State Grand Jury Indictments from November, the alleged total is $6,218,923.33.

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