South Carolina Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

South Carolina Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers: 120 Prosecutors, One Fallen Dynasty, and the System That Convicted Murdaugh

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to help you understand how federal prosecution actualy works in South Carolina – and theres no better illustration then the case that defined 2024. Alex Murdaugh came from three generations of South Carolina prosecutors. His family essentially ran the legal system in their region. And federal prosecutors called him “one of the most prolific fraudsters in South Carolina’s history” before sentencing him to 40 years in prison for stealing $11 million from his own clients.

The Murdaugh case teaches everything you need to know about federal court in South Carolina. Local prominence provides zero protection. Legal dynasty means nothing when the FBI investigates. And the 120 federal prosecutors spread across this states four main offices have the patience, the resources, and the tools to document 15 years of fraud, return a 22-count indictment, and secure a sentance that exceeded what prosecutors themselves recommended.

Todd Spodek and the team at Spodek Law Group have defended clients facing federal charges in jurisdictions across the country, including cases were defendants assumed there local connections would protect them. This article will explain how federal prosecution works in South Carolina, what the Murdaugh case reveals about federal court culture here, and what options exist when the same system that took down a legal dynasty turns its attention to you.

When the Dynasty Fell: What Murdaugh Teaches About Federal Court

The Murdaugh family had been prosecutors in South Carolina for three generations. Think about what that means. Decades of accumulated influence. Relationships with judges, law enforcement, political figures throughout the Lowcountry. The kind of entrenched local power that most defendants assume protects people from consequences.

And none of it mattered in federal court.

Heres what happened. Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh was indicted on 22 federal charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He pleaded guilty in September 2023 to all 22 charges. He admitted to engaging in three different schemes to steal money from his personal injury clients over a period spanning from July 2011 until October 2021 – fifteen years of documented fraud.

In April 2024, the federal judge handed down a sentance that exceeded what prosecutors recommended. Prosecutors asked for 30 years. The judge gave him 40. Plus $8,762,731.88 in restitution to victims. Plus a $10,034,377.95 forfeiture order for his ill-gotten gains.

This is what federal prosecution looks like in South Carolina. Patient investigation. Comprehensive documentation. And a judge willing to exceed the governments own recommendation when the crimes warrant it.

But the Murdaugh case reveals something even more disturbing about federal prosecution. After he pleaded guilty, Murdaugh was required to submit to polygraph testing as part of his cooperation agreement. He failed. Federal prosecutors said he lied to FBI agents when asked about whether “another, unnamed attorney” helped him steal from clients and his law firm.

The investigation didnt end when he confessed. It continued. Federal prosecutors kept digging, kept questioning, kept testing whether he was telling the whole truth. When he wasnt, they documented that too. The system that investigates the crime also investigates wheather your being honest about the crime.

Heres another lesson from the Murdaugh case that defendants often miss. His 40-year federal sentance runs “concurrently” with his state murder sentances – meaning it seems like the federal time adds nothing to his actual imprisonment. But it adds something crucial: federal supervision, federal conditions, and permanant federal consequences that survive even if state convictions are somehow overturned on appeal. The federal overlay guarentees accountability regardless of what happens in state court. Even if every state conviction dissapeared tomorrow, the federal sentance would still apply.

120 Prosecutors, One State: How South Carolina Federal Prosecution Works

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina employs aproximately 120 prosecutors and support professionals across four main offices: Columbia, Charleston, Florence, and Greenville. This is a substantial federal presence covering the entire state.

OK so lets understand how this office actualy operates. South Carolina was consolidated into a single federal district in 1965, but the state maintains eight federal courthouses in Charleston, Florence, Columbia, Anderson, Aiken, Spartanburg, Greenville, and Beaufort. The consolidation means one set of prosecution policies statewide. The geographic spread means prosecution reaches every corner of South Carolina.

The Criminal Division divides into specialized sections. The Narcotics/OCDETF Section focuses on “major drug traffickers whose organizations span District and international borders.” They also handle “gang-related crimes that have a nexus to narcotics trafficking.” The Violent Crimes Section prosecutes “Title 18 firearms offenses, violations of the National Firearms Act under Title 26, kidnappings, carjacking, Hobbs Act Robbery, bank robbery, gang related organized crime, and other crimes of violence.”

The White Collar/General Crimes section handles mortgage fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, health care fraud, copyright and trademark violations, theft of trade secrets, identity theft, illegal reentry, environmental crimes. This is the section that built the Murdaugh case – patient financial investigators documenting years of fraud.

Heres what makes South Carolina federal prosecution particularley intense. The office participates in Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Attorney General’s “flagship strategy aimed at combating violent crime through targeted prosecution of violent repeat offenders.” Gun prosecutions are a priority. Drug prosecutions involving significant quantities are a priority. Financial crimes affecting multiple victims are a priority.

The 120-person office isnt spread thin. Its concentrating resources on cases they intend to win decisivley.

The Fentanyl Crisis That Became Murder Charges

South Carolina faces a fentanyl crisis that has fundamentaly changed how drug crimes are prosecuted. The numbers are devastating: 1,660 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2022, accounting for more then 70% of all overdoses statewide. Greenville County alone recorded 278 drug-related overdose deaths that year – most related to fentanyl.

This crisis has triggered an unprecedented prosecutorial response. “Operation Devil in Disguise” charged 64 defendants on 327 narcotics and related charges. But heres were it gets genuinley unprecedented. The State Grand Jury indicted alleged fentanyl dealers for murder, accessory before the fact to murder, and conspiracy to commit murder for distributing fentanyl to victims who died from resulting overdoses.

Let that sink in. Drug dealers charged with murder becuase there customers overdosed. Not manslaughter. Not reckless homicide. Murder.

The legal theory is aggressive: if you sell fentanyl and your buyer dies, your responsible for that death. The charges reflect South Carolina’s willingness to treat drug trafficking as inherantly deadly – which, given the statistics, it is. But the implications for defendants are severe. Murder charges mean potential life sentences. Murder charges mean no presumption of bail. Murder charges transform drug cases into something far more serious then traditional trafficking prosecutions.

Federal prosecutors participate in these investigations through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a 21-count indictment against 13 individuals for drug trafficking offenses spanning from 2016 to present. The charges alleged conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

Think about what this means for anyone connected to fentanyl distribution in South Carolina. Your facing coordinated state and federal investigation. Your facing murder charges at the state level and trafficking charges at the federal level. Your facing SLED, the Greenville County Drug Enforcement Unit, local sheriff’s offices, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security all working together.

The largest fentanyl seizure in South Carolina history resulted in federal indictments. This isnt state prosecutors ocasionally referring cases to federal court. This is integrated, systematic, multi-agency prosecution were every significant trafficking case faces potential federal exposure.

The combination of state murder charges and federal trafficking charges creates a prosecution strategy with no escape route. Even if you beat the federal case, state murder charges await. Even if you beat the state case, federal trafficking charges apply. The dual-track prosecution means defendants face overlapping accountability that neither system alone would provide.

And theres no parole in the federal system. You serve at least 85% of whatever sentance you recieve. A 10-year federal drug sentance means at least 8 and a half years in custody. A 20-year sentance means at least 17 years. South Carolina state courts might offer parole eligabilty earlier. Federal court offers only the 85% rule – no exceptions, no early release programs that cut sentances in half.

Fourth Circuit Reality: What Appeals Mean in Conservative Territory

South Carolina sits within the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which also covers North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Fourth Circuit is historicaly more prosecution-friendly then circuits like the Ninth or the Third. This matters for understanding your federal exposure and your appellate options.

Heres the uncomfortable truth about appeals in the Fourth Circuit. Challenges that might succeed in more defendant-friendly circuits often fail here. Fourth Amendment suppression arguments, sentencing challenges, prosecutorial misconduct claims – all of them face skeptical appellate review. The circuit’s ideological composition has shifted over the years, but it remains more deferential to prosecution then many defendants expect.

What does this mean practically? It means trial strategy matters even more. If your defense depends on winning an appeal, you need to understand that the Fourth Circuit is not the Ninth Circuit. The arguments that work in California or Oregon may not work in South Carolina. Defense counsel must be realistic about appellate prospects when advising clients on trial versus plea decisions.

The Murdaugh case illustrates another Fourth Circuit reality. The trial judge exceeded the governments sentancing recommendation. Murdaugh recieved 40 years when prosecutors asked for 30. Appeals from sentences that exceed recommendations face an uphill battle even in defendant-friendly circuits. In the Fourth Circuit, that hill is steeper still.

This dosent mean appeals are hopeless. It means appeals must be carefully structured around the issues most likely to succeed in this particular circuit. And it means trial-level defense must preserve issues properly, make objections precisely, and build a record that gives the appellate court grounds for reversal if grounds exist.

From Charleston to Greenville: Eight Courthouses, One Federal System

The geographic reality of South Carolina federal prosecution is unique. Eight federal courthouses spread across the state – Charleston, Florence, Columbia, Anderson, Aiken, Spartanburg, Greenville, and Beaufort – all operating under the same District policies but serving different regional cultures.

Charleston’s federal courthouse handles cases from the Lowcountry – including the Murdaugh prosecution, which originated in that region. Columbia’s federal courthouse, as the states capital, handles cases from the Midlands. Greenville’s courthouse serves the Upstate – the region hit hardest by the fentanyl crisis that drove Operation Devil in Disguise.

Heres what this geographic spread means for defendants. Venue matters. Were your case is prosecuted affects jury composition, judicial assignment, and even informal courthouse culture. The same federal law applies everywhere, but the human beings implementing that law vary by location.

The consolidation into a single district in 1965 created uniformity in prosecution policy. The U.S. Attorney based in Columbia sets priorities for the entire state. But the four main offices – Columbia, Charleston, Florence, and Greenville – each develop there own operational patterns. Prosecutors in Greenville focus heavily on fentanyl becuase thats were the overdose crisis is most acute. Prosecutors in Charleston handle significant financial fraud becuase thats were the financial activity concentrates.

For defendants, understanding which office and which courthouse handles your case is part of understanding your exposure. The 120 prosecutors arnt fungible. They have specialties, experience levels, and individual approaches. Defense counsel who understands the specific prosecutors and judges in your courthouse has advantages that counsel unfamiliar with the local federal culture lacks.

Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Gun Prosecution Explosion

South Carolina participates aggressivley in Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the federal governments flagship violent crime strategy. The Violent Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office heads up PSN prosecution, focusing on “targeted prosecution of violent repeat offenders.”

Heres what PSN means in practice. Gun crimes that might be state matters become federal matters when they fit PSN criteria. Felon-in-possession cases. Straw purchases. Armed drug trafficking. Any crime of violence involving a firearm. The federal system absorbs cases that the state system might handle less severly.

The sentancing consequences are dramatic. Federal firearms offenses carry mandatory minimums that South Carolina state courts dont impose. Armed career criminal designations can trigger 15-year minimums. Firearms used in drug trafficking trigger consecutive sentances under 18 USC 924(c) – five to ten years added on top of the drug sentance, not instead of it.

Think about what this means if your facing potential firearms charges in South Carolina. The question isnt just what you did. Its weather federal prosecutors decide to take your case. State court might mean shorter sentances, more flexible plea options, the possibility of parole. Federal court means mandatory minimums, no parole (serve at least 85%), and consecutive stacking of firearms enhancements.

Project Safe Neighborhoods operates through regular meetings between prosecutors and law enforcement. Cases are reviewed. Decisions are made about which cases to federalize. Those decisions happen before you know your being considered. By the time you learn your facing federal charges, the selection has already occurred.

Heres the reality that many defendants dont understand until its to late. Federal firearms prosecutions in South Carolina have exploded over the past decade. The same gun possesion that might result in probation in state court triggers mandatory minimums in federal court. The same armed robbery that might be prosecuted as a single count in state court becomes stacked federal charges with consecutive sentances.

The PSN initiative specificaly targets “violent repeat offenders” – meaning if you have a criminal history, federal prosecutors are more likely to take your case. Your prior record becomes the factor that pushes your case from state to federal. And once your in federal court, that same prior record drives your sentancing guidelines upward. The system that selects you for federal prosecution also uses your background to ensure a severe sentance.

South Carolinas participation in PSN means coordinated intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local agencies. The local police officer who arrests you may already be in contact with federal task force members. The decision to federalize your case may happen within hours of your arrest. By the time you hire a defense attorney, the trajectory of your case may already be set.

Heres were defendants often make catastrophic mistakes. They assume the arresting officer works for local law enforcement and treat the arrest as a local matter. They dont realize the officer is part of a task force. They make statements, waive rights, agree to searches – all while believing there facing state charges that might result in probation. When the federal indictment arrives weeks later, everything they said during that initial encounter becomes evidence in a case with mandatory minimums and no parole.

Before the Federal System Finds You: Understanding Your Exposure

If your reading this article, you may already suspect federal interest in your case. Or you may be trying to understand your exposure before anything happens. Either way, understanding what triggers federal prosecution in South Carolina is essential.

The factors that elevate cases to federal jurisdiction follow predictable patterns. Drug quantities suggesting major trafficking rather then personal use. Firearms involvement in any crime. Financial fraud affecting federal programs or crossing state lines. Gang connections to narcotics trafficking. Violence or threats of violence. Public corruption at any level.

But heres what the Murdaugh case teaches about federal attention. Fifteen years of fraud. $11 million stolen. 27 victims. The federal system was patient. It documented everything. It built a case so comprehensive that even a guilty plea couldnt prevent a 40-year sentance. The investigation that catches you may have been running for years before you knew about it.

At Spodek Law Group, Todd Spodek and our team have represented clients facing federal charges in jurisdictions were local prominence provides no protection. We’ve seen how federal prosecutors approach cases differently then state prosecutors. We’ve seen how cooperation can help – and how failed polygraphs can hurt. We’ve seen how the 120 prosecutors in South Carolina methodicaly build cases that leave little room for traditional defense strategies.

South Carolina’s federal court proved with Murdaugh that dynasty means nothing, that connections provide no protection, and that patient investigation produces devastating results. The same system that took down a three-generation prosecutor family is the system that handles every federal case in this state.

Call us at 212-300-5196. The consultation is confidential. Weather your facing investigation, indictment, or simply trying to understand your exposure, early involvement creates options that dissapear once the federal machinery focuses on your case.

The 120 prosecutors in South Carolina’s federal district have resources, patience, and the backing of the entire federal government. The question is weather you understand what that means – and weather you have counsel who can navigate a system that even legal dynastys couldnt escape.