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Alex Murdaugh— Case Archive
personpersonJeannie SeckingerJeannie SeckingerPMPED chief financial officer who helped uncover Alex Murdaugh's use of a DBA account named Forge.← All People
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Jeannie Seckinger

Courtroom still of Jeannie Seckinger.

PMPED chief financial officer who helped uncover Alex Murdaugh's use of a DBA account named Forge.

Appeared2023 Murder Trial
1,381 lines·26 proceedings·19 mentions

About

Jeannie Seckinger explained PMPED's compensation, trust-account, and disbursement procedures during an admissibility hearing and later before the jury. As the firm's financial officer, she described how professional fees, client recoveries, and attorney-approved disbursements were expected to move through the firm's financial channels.

Seckinger traced the June 7 inquiry into $792,000 in Faris fees, including her demand that Alex Murdaugh provide proof that the money remained in Chris Wilson's trust account. She said the discussion ended after Murdaugh received news about his terminally ill father and that the firm suspended its inquiry after the killings while supporting him. Although Wilson's office later reported that the money was available, Seckinger testified that she continued seeking a ledger or comparable documentary proof.

She also described the September discovery of a Faris fee check payable personally to Murdaugh and her review of payments to Forge. Using checks, account information, spreadsheets, and correcting disbursements, she distinguished Murdaugh's Bank of America account doing business as Forge from the legitimate Forge Consulting and explained the firm's investigation and reimbursement of affected clients. She testified that the spreadsheet's category for transactions involving the DBA Forge account totaled $2,841,512.55, while acknowledging a spreadsheet correction and limits on one signature identification.

Cross-examination tested the timing, scope, and foundation of the firm's review. Seckinger agreed that the firm suspected possible income concealment rather than theft on June 7, that relevant electronic records had existed for years, and that she lacked personal knowledge of some client interviews, possible undisclosed arrangements, and the ultimate use of all traced funds. On redirect, she maintained that she knew of no legitimate explanation for client funds entering the DBA Forge account and attributed the delayed broader review to the firm's prior trust in Murdaugh, the absence of client complaints, and concern for him after the killings. The court instructed the jury that the financial evidence was admitted only for consideration of the State's motive theory, not as character or propensity evidence or as proof of the charged offenses.

Trial Record (26)

20232023 Murder TrialJan 23, 2023 – Mar 3, 2023Called by prosecution

Jeannie Seckinger explained PMPED's financial controls and traced the June 7 Faris-fee inquiry, the later review of transactions involving Alex Murdaugh's DBA Forge account, and the firm's client reimbursements. Cross-examination tested the timing, scope, and limits of her investigation, while redirect addressed her continuing demand for documentary proof and the firm's earlier trust in Murdaugh.

Day 9

ProceduralRule 404(b) Argument and RulingMentioned

Summary

The court clarified that its prior opening-the-door ruling rested on Rule 403, outlined the standards for proposed other-acts evidence, and ordered in-camera, act-specific review before deciding admissibility.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

CrossJeannie Seckinger - CrossJeannie SeckingerJim Griffin2highlights117lines spoken

Summary

Jim Griffin tested the timing and foundation of PMPED's financial investigation, eliciting that the firm initially suspected hidden fees rather than theft, that older Forge records had long been accessible, and that parts of the client-authorization inquiry rested on work by others.

Highlights (2)

Quote“If a partner did it correctly, it would be recognized and it would be accounted for correctly. The question wasn't whether he was going to structure a fee. It was whether he had received the fee personally.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger drew the central distinction between an authorized fee structure and the suspected personal receipt of firm fees.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“Well, when you're speaking of an epiphany, I had started digging through his client list for every fee that he'd brought in. And rather than going one by one, my epiphany was let me just run a payment ledger on Forge and see what that turns up rather than digging one by one.”— Jeannie SeckingerShe explained the specific accounting step that broadened the firm's review from individual matters to Forge transactions generally.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
RedirectJeannie Seckinger - RedirectJeannie SeckingerCreighton Waters1highlight39lines spoken

Summary

Jeannie Seckinger reaffirmed that client funds entered Alex Murdaugh's Forge account without a legitimate explanation and explained how firm trust, repayment practices, the June 7 killings, and later-discovered records shaped the timing of the firm's inquiry.

Highlights (1)

Quote“His explanation was that it was an accident, that he thought it was due to him and that he didn't know, and that he'd found the other one later and deposited it, too, because he thought they were due to him.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger recounted Alex Murdaugh's explanation for depositing both payments in the duplicate-repayment episode.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
ProceduralRule 404(b) Hearing Argument and SchedulingMentioned

Summary

The parties contested whether alleged financial misconduct supported motive or fear of detection. The court found enough evidence for the law-firm misconduct threshold but deferred final admissibility decisions pending the Satterfield documents, proposed Mark Tinsley testimony, bank witnesses, and further argument.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 11

ProceduralRule 404(b) Ruling and Limiting InstructionMentioned

Summary

The court admitted alleged financial-crimes evidence under Rule 404(b), Rule 403, and res gestae, clarified that the ruling extended beyond June 7, and addressed the defense's request for a limiting instruction and preserved objection.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 12

DirectJeannie Seckinger - DirectJeannie SeckingerCreighton Waters4highlights688lines spoken

Summary

PMPED CFO Jeannie Seckinger described her June 7 inquiry into missing Faris fees, the September discovery of checks and a fake Forge account tied to Alex Murdaugh, and the firm's reconstruction and repayment of diverted client funds. The court limited the evidence to the State's motive theory.

Highlights (4)

Quote“I think Alex was successful, more not from his work ethic but from his ability to establish relationships and to manipulate people into settlements and clients into liking him. So, he did it through the art of bullshit basically.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger gave a memorable assessment of the interpersonal skills she believed drove Alex Murdaugh's professional success.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“I told him, I said I have reason to believe that you received the Faris money directly to you, and you need to prove to me that you did not.”— Jeannie SeckingerThis captures Seckinger's June 7 confrontation over the missing Faris fees.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“These are members of the bar who have taken a sworn oath that we are supposed to trust, and they're telling us that the money is there.”— Jeannie SeckingerThe statement explains why the firm temporarily accepted assurances that the Faris fees remained available.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“I knew that he was stealing all of this money.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger described her realization as canceled checks bearing Alex Murdaugh's endorsement emerged from her records search.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
CrossJeannie Seckinger - CrossJeannie SeckingerJim Griffin2highlights119lines spoken

Summary

Jim Griffin challenged the immediacy and murder-case relevance of PMPED's financial inquiry, while Jeannie Seckinger maintained that she pressured Alex Murdaugh for Faris-fee answers despite the firm's trust and delayed discovery of the broader misconduct.

Highlights (2)

Quote“Oh, yes. I take it very personally. It haunts me that I let this -- or that this happened.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger openly described the personal impact of discovering the financial misconduct, giving context to the defense's exploration of her anger and potential bias.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
Quote“I had my suspicions on whether it was really in there, but we were not pursuing it as stolen money.”— Jeannie SeckingerThis qualified the firm's contemporaneous understanding of the June 7 Faris-fee problem and narrowed what Seckinger believed at the time.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶
RedirectJeannie Seckinger - RedirectJeannie SeckingerCreighton Waters1highlight31lines spoken

Summary

Jeannie Seckinger said she demanded proof concerning the Faris fees on June 7, explained why the firm delayed pressing Alex Murdaugh after the killings, and described doubts that persisted after Chris Wilson said the money remained in trust.

Highlights (1)

Quote“I demanded proof that the money was actually in the account; I wanted the legers showing the transactions.”— Jeannie SeckingerSeckinger described the proof she demanded from Alex Murdaugh during the June 7 Faris-fee inquiry.Open in transcript →Watch this moment ▶

Day 13

ProceduralExhibit 441 Admissibility Argument and RulingMentioned

Summary

The court admitted State's Exhibit 441 as a party-opponent statement, offered a rehabilitation-related redaction that the defense declined, denied a renewed motion to strike the financial evidence, and declined to repeat a limiting instruction at that juncture.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 14

Day 15

Day 22

CrossMark Ball - CrossMark BallCreighton WatersMentioned

Summary

Mark Ball said Alex Murdaugh repeatedly gave him an account contradicted by the kennel video, described the firm's discovery of extensive client thefts and Alex's removal, and explained why he immediately doubted the later roadside shooting story.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

RedirectMark Ball - RedirectMark BallJim GriffinMentioned

Summary

Mark Ball described client-repayment efforts, firm losses, Alex Murdaugh's grief and apparent cooperation, and family phone and firearm habits, while stressing that his anger over the financial misconduct did not establish the murder accusations.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 23

Day 24

CrossAlex Murdaugh - CrossAlex MurdaughCreighton WatersMentioned

Summary

Waters tested Alex Murdaugh's newly disclosed kennel account against digital data, prior interviews, financial deceptions, disputed conversations with Shelley Smith and Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, and the timing of his 911 call. Murdaugh admitted extensive lying but denied influencing witnesses, manufacturing an alibi, or killing Maggie and Paul.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 25

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Day 28