Is There a Possible Link Between Murdaugh's Missing Millions and Strauss?
Regarding Alex Murdaugh’s mysteriously vanished millions, those in the Lowcountry legal and business circles have often whispered about Peter Strauss as the guy to go to for lawyers wanting to shuffle money into offshore accounts. His name and the titles of his companies pop up across offshore data leak databases, all intricately set up.
Remarkably, Strauss is the registered owner of over 400 companies in South Carolina alone.
The paperwork stemming from Strauss’s ongoing divorce, awaiting appeal, and a legal malpractice lawsuit initiated by his wife in Beaufort County unfolds like a plot from a Shonda Rhimes series. As per the lawsuit (.pdf), Strauss allegedly convinced his wife to transfer their shared assets into a trust, conveniently omitting that his involvement was a conflict of interest or his intention to withhold assets in case of a divorce. A peculiar clause in the trust agreement, reportedly forced upon his wife by Strauss, suggested that if he committed adultery leading to a divorce, the trust would allow him to assert that his wife was no longer a beneficiary of the joint assets-containing trust.
The lawsuit further alleges that Strauss treated these assets and businesses as if he held the legal title once the trust was established. This included signing off on a $10 million loan, endorsing mortgages, using the equity in those assets for real estate development, buying properties, deciding on income distributions from businesses supposedly owned by the trust, and even acquiring jet airplanes.
In a tucked-away footnote in one document, Strauss is labeled “extremely dishonest” by his former wife. Buried in the fine print that some readers might overlook is an accusation of a potentially fraudulent mortgage he took out on his home in January of 2013.
UPDATE: THE SEARCH FOR MURDAUGH'S 'MISSING MILLIONS' CONTINUES
The mortgage in question was supposedly facilitated by a now-defunct New Zealand-based firm called Lighthouse Savings Limited. According to records, Strauss orchestrated this mortgage as a ploy to present himself as “judgment proof” in case of a lawsuit. Interestingly, Lighthouse never lent any money to Strauss, and the director of Lighthouse Savings Limited happened to be his close friend and mentor, John Ivsan.
When confronted about the deceitful filing, which is still documented with the Beaufort County Register of Deeds, Strauss submitted an affidavit asserting he never received any money for the mortgage.
Recently, Strauss and his legal team boldly filed a motion for summary dismissal, a move promptly contested by his ex-wife’s attorneys. They argued that significant investigation was necessary to counter Strauss’ motion for summary judgment. The nature of this substantial discovery is anyone’s guess, but it promises to be intriguing, considering Strauss’ affinity for offshore accounts and his expertise in money management.
Beyond his evident links to Murdaugh’s co-conspirator Cory Fleming, is there anything else tying Strauss to Murdaugh and the elusive millions?
This week, attorney and podcaster Eric Bland dropped a hint, suggesting the suspended attorney “might have some answers about where Alex Murdaugh hid his stolen money.” However, Bland has yet to provide further details on this assertion.
Strauss’ name is circulating in discussions about the ongoing hunt for the Murdaugh money.
And with an unprecedented surge in sealed federal indictments in recent months – a staggering sixty-one in the last month alone – one wonders if the scope of this investigation is broadening.
Stay tuned to this outlet as we closely follow this crucial aspect of the larger ‘Murdaugh Murders’ saga.