Financial firm denies involvement with Alex Murdaugh in housekeeper settlement

A Georgia-based financial firm disavowed any involvement with Alex Murdaugh, who allegedly invoked the company’s name in settlement documents related to the death of the family’s housekeeper and nanny, in a statement released Wednesday.

The company, Forge Consulting LLC, helps structure settlements in South Carolina in personal injury and wrongful death cases, so that recipients — including attorneys — can receive the money over time.

In its statement, Forge said it had “no involvement in or knowledge of the alleged inappropriate conduct of Alex Murdaugh.”

“Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Murdaugh, and possibly others working with him, leveraged the Forge Consulting name and reputation by establishing a bank account titled ‘Forge’ without our knowledge or consent,” Forge wrote.

This comes amid accusations that embattled Hampton attorney Murdaugh and another lawyer, Cory Fleming, diverted money allocated for the heirs of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaugh family’s former nanny and housekeeper, in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Murdaugh’s law license has since been suspended by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

“Allegedly, Mr. Murdaugh had Cory Fleming make that check payable to Forge, the remaining amount of that almost $4 million that was recovered and then he took the rest, or that’s what we are told,” Eric Bland, the Columbia-based attorney representing Satterfield’s heirs, told the NewsNation TV program Saturday.

Fleming did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.

Forge wrote that after the company learned of the alleged account, it was immediately reported to law enforcement, “along with others who are investigating.”

Satterfield died in February 2018 after a fall at the Murdaugh house. She had worked for the Murdaugh family for more than 20 years.

A recent lawsuit filed by Satterfield’s two sons said Murdaugh and two friends helped the two sons file a wrongful death claim against Murdaugh.

Bland said the sons never received any of the money. In a public filing, the amount was $505,000 meant to be paid to Michael Satterfield and Brian Herriott.

On Tuesday, however, Bland told the Island Packet, Beaufort Gazette, and The State newspapers that he found a missing judge’s order approving a $4.3 million settlement. Of that $4.3 million, there was $2.76 million allocated to go to the Satterfield sons.

“A disbursement signed by the judge says my clients were supposed to get $2.76 million of this,” Bland said. “Somebody else got that money.”

There is no public record of the order being filed, according to Bland.

The S.C. Law Enforcement Division is investigating Satterfield’s death, after a request from the current Hampton County Coroner.

SLED Chief Mark Keel said the investigation could span beyond the circumstances of her death.

“Our investigation is not going to be limited to what caused her death,” Keel told The State. “It will investigate her death, but if there was some impropriety, some crime with regards to what was supposed to happen in the settlement, we will look to hold those folks responsible as well.”

The Murdaugh family does have ties to Michael Gunn, Forge Consulting’s principal and senior settlement consultant, according to social media posts.

Photos posted to Maggie Murdaugh’s Facebook page appear to show Alex and Maggie attending Gunn’s wedding at the Metropolitan Club in New York City in 2016.

Gunn’s wedding to his wife, Amanda, was featured in a Jan. 25, 2016 New York Times article about “one of the largest snowfalls in the history of New York City.”

In the article, Michael and Amanda Gunn are described as South Carolina residents who had planned their wedding for Manhattan and made a last-minute decision to postpone the ceremony and reception because of the snow storm. They had the event on Jan. 24, 2016, according to the article.

Shortly after the wedding, on Jan. 25, 2016, Maggie Murdaugh posted a photo that shows Alex Murdaugh and four other people standing in front of a private plane. The caption of the photo reads: “On the way home!”

A rug in the photo says “Meridian Teterboro” — an aviation company in New Jersey.

Asked about the photos on Wednesday, Peter H. Wayne IV, Forge Consulting’s general counsel, said in a statement that “like with so many other members of the South Carolina Bar, Michael had a relationship with Alex and Maggie.”

“Unfortunately, we, like many others, are learning more about Alex’s alleged actions, and to the extent they involve the unauthorized use or leveraging of the Forge Consulting name and reputation,” the statement said. “We are committed to providing law enforcement and other interested parties with whatever assistance necessary as these unfortunate events are investigated by the proper authorities.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Financial firm denies involvement with Alex Murdaugh in housekeeper settlement."