A man from New Jersey – 31-year-old John Michael Musbach – tried to pay a hitman $20K in bitcoin to have a 14-year-old boy killed off.
John Michael Musbach Has Been Arrested
The boy was allegedly a key witness in an ongoing case against Musbach. Trying to get the boy out of the picture and come out of the situation clean, Musbach sought the aid of a potential hitman to do the job for him, and he tried to do so with bitcoin. His plan failed, and he’s now pleading guilty in a Camden federal court following a charge of knowingly using the internet to harm another.
Musbach was initially arrested in 2015, which led to the case in which the boy was set to testify against him. It is believed that between May 7 and May 20 of the following year, he communicated with the administrator of a murder-for-hire site on the dark web to see about engaging in a contract killing with crypto. The site in question bore the following on its main page:
If you want to kill someone or to beat the shit out of him, we are the right guys… No undercover cops here. No risks of getting caught because we are professional killers.
A press release detailing the incident stated:
Musbach asked if a 14-year-old was too young to target, and upon hearing that the age was not a problem, paid approximately 40 bitcoin (approximately $20,000 at the time) for the hit.
From there, he is alleged to have regularly messaged the administrator of the site to ask about specific details regarding the crime such as when the “hit would happen.”
Having already paid $20K for the murder, the site administrator then tried to press the criminal for another $5,000, though Musbach refused and sought to have the transaction canceled. It was here when the final bomb was dropped. The administrator told him that he had been engaging with a scam website and that he was on the verge of telling the police about what Musbach was up to.
A Long Jail Sentence
The defendant now faces as many as ten years in prison and a fine of more than $250K. He is set to be sentenced on June 13 of this year. Musbach’s attorney Rocco C. Cipparone Jr. explained:
Mr. Musbach decided to put this matter behind him and accepted his responsibility without a trial. The more limited sentencing range negotiated in this plea agreement appropriately limits Mr. Musbach’s sentencing exposure for reasons which will be expounded upon at sentencing. We now look forward to putting forth in context at sentencing detailed mitigating information and positive information about Mr. Musbach.
There is good news in that the boy was never harmed and the hit was never carried out.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/john-musbach-pays-20k-in-bitcoin-to-have-trial-witness-killed-off/