A woman from US has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to murder her ex-husband.
Kristy Lynn Felkins, 38, from Fallon, Nevada, confessed to using Bitcoin on the dark web to hire a hitman with the intention of eliminating her former spouse.
The motive behind this heinous act was to gain access to a significant life insurance payout. This incident sheds light on the potential misuse of cryptocurrencies in criminal activities, where the anonymity of digital currencies can be exploited for nefarious purposes.
Court documents revealed that in 2016, Felkins paid $5,000 in Bitcoin to engage a hitman from the dark web website “Besa Mafia” to execute the murder while her ex-husband was traveling in Chico, California.
Not stopping there, she even offered an additional $4,000 to expedite the timeline of the planned murder. Felkins expressed her sinister motive in court, stating that she stood to gain her ex-husband’s retirement, their house, and a substantial life insurance payout from his demise.
The dark web provides a shadowy platform for users to anonymously hire individuals for illicit activities, including hitmen services.
The use of Bitcoin as a payment method adds a layer of privacy, making it challenging for law enforcement to trace the transactions and identify the parties involved.
Felkins instructed the would-be assassin to stage the murder to appear as if it was a “mugging gone wrong,” showing complete disregard for the potential harm caused to her ex-husband’s new girlfriend. Fortunately, the dark web website turned out to be a scam, and no real hitman existed.
Although it remains unclear how law enforcement intervened in the transaction, Felkins accepted a guilty plea in March as part of an arrangement with federal prosecutors, aiming to avoid a trial.
By doing so, she secured a five-year prison sentence. Had she been found guilty in a trial, she could have faced up to 10 years behind bars.
As a district judge orders Felkins to surrender in September and commence her prison term, it serves as a stark reminder of the potential dangers associated with misusing cryptocurrencies for illegal activities.
While cryptocurrencies offer users financial freedom and privacy, they can also provide a cover for criminal acts, making it imperative for authorities to remain vigilant against such abuses.