(NewsNation) — He’s already serving life without parole for the deaths of his wife and younger son, but Alex Murdaugh could face even more time in prison when he’s sentenced Monday on federal financial crimes.
Murdaugh has already pleaded guilty to stealing money from his law firm and clients in South Carolina state court and was sentenced to 27 years.
He had agreed to a plea deal on the federal charges, but federal prosecutors plan to ask a judge to throw out that agreement, saying they believe Murdaugh isn’t telling the whole truth about where about $6 million he stole ended up.
They say Murdaugh hasn’t told the truth about more money and more victims discovered since his sentencing on state charges.
Adding to the prosecutors’ appeal: Murdaugh failed an October polygraph test when quizzed about the money. A prosecution filing argues that the failed test voids the plea agreement. Prosecutors are asking the judge to impose a consecutive sentence on top of the state conviction.
His lawyers say Murdaugh denies the allegation that he breached his plea agreement.
They also contend the polygraph operator, an FBI agent, compromised the results when he asked odd questions of their client. They say the agent also commented that he’d just come from testing Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch man convicted of killing Alabama teen Natalie Holloway in Aruba in 2005.
“There are legitimate questions as to whether the Government intentionally manipulated the results to void the plea agreement and achieve the prosecutors’ stated desire to ‘ensure that he’s never a free man again,'” defense lawyers Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian wrote in a motion asking the judge to ignore the polygraph report at Monday’s sentencing.
