Woman Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison After Failed Bitcoin Murder-for-Hire Plot

A woman has been sentenced to over eight years in prison after her murder-for-hire plot using bitcoin fell apart. Melody Sasser attempted to use the dark web to hire a hitman to kill an Alabama resident. She paid nearly $10,000 in cryptocurrency and tried to make the murder look like an accident. Authorities discovered incriminating … Read more

Woman Sentenced to Prison for Bitcoin-Funded Dark Web Murder Plot

A Utah woman, Krista Renae Stone, 23, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for attempting to orchestrate a murder-for-hire using the dark web, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday. Stone targeted her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, arranging to pay $5,000 in bitcoin to a website offering hitman services between March and … Read more

Queens Woman Indicted for Hiring Hitman With Cryptocurrency on Dark Web

A Queens woman, Yue Zhou, has been indicted on charges of murder for hire, following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. Zhou allegedly used a dark web site to solicit a hitman, offering cryptocurrency, cash, and sexual favors. Murder for Hire via Dark Web The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a premier … Read more

Woman Pleads Guilty to Using Bitcoin for Dark Web Hitman

In Salt Lake City, Krista Renae Stone, 23, pleaded guilty to using the dark web to arrange a murder-for-hire in 2023. According to court documents, Stone utilized bitcoin to pay $5,000 for the hit. Between March and September 2023, she accessed a website offering “hitman for hire” services, providing detailed information about the intended victim, … Read more

Woman Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Crypto-Funded Murder-for-Hire Scheme

Michelle Murphy, 58, from Bedford, Texas, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for attempting to hire a hitman using bitcoin to kill her boyfriend’s lover. Charged in September 2023 and pleading guilty in December, Murphy used the dark web to orchestrate the crime, paying $10,510 in bitcoin. The transaction was traced through … Read more

Ross Ulbricht Murder-for-Hire Indictment to Be Dismissed

Robert K. Hur, United States Attorney from the Maryland district, filed a motion on July 20, 2018 to dismiss a 2013 three-count indictment against Ross Ulbricht which included murder-for-hire allegations. Mr. Ulbricht, 34, was prosecuted under a separate indictment out of the New York district as Dread Pirate Roberts, principal operator of underground online marketplace … Read more