Texas influencer sentenced to 10 years in prison for murder-for-hire plot

A. Dallas, Texas, A woman who ran an online business was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of murder-for-hire conspiracy.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Tennessee, 35-year-old Ashley Grayson ran an internet-based business and had gained fame through her online presence.

On her Instagram account, Grayson described herself as a best-selling, eight-figure business coach, course creator, and philanthropist.

In 2021, Grayson got into a dispute with a woman from Southaven, Mississippi, who had an online business similar to hers. This woman was the target of a murder-for-hire plot.

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Ashley Grayson was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of murder-for-hire conspiracy, according to the Department of Justice. (iStock)

Grayson believed the woman had created fake online profiles criticizing him and his work, even though the two women had never met in person.

Then, in August 2022, Grayson asked a woman from Memphis with whom he had worked in the past to fly to Dallas to discuss a “business opportunity.”

The Memphis woman and her husband came to Dallas the following month and met with Grayson and her husband, Joshua.

Grayson offered to pay the Memphis couple to kill the Southaven woman, Grayson’s ex-boyfriend and a Texas woman who had recently made social media posts critical of Grayson. He offered to pay at least $20,000 for each murder.

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In 2021, Grayson came into conflict with a woman from Southaven, Mississippi, who had an online business similar to hers and was the target of a murder-for-hire plot. (iStock)

On September 10, 2022, the Memphis woman recorded a video call in which Grayson confirmed that he wanted the Southaven woman killed as soon as possible and even offered an additional $5,000 to have the murder completed the next week.

The Memphis couple then sent Grayson a picture of police lights from an unrelated incident in Memphis, making it look as if they had made a failed attempt to carry out the murders. The couple demanded $10,000 from Grayson, or half the promised amount. The Memphis couple then traveled to Dallas, met with Grayson and her husband, and collected $10,000 from them for the “venture.”

In July 2023, a grand jury in Tennessee indicted Grayson and her husband for using an interstate facility to commit murder-for-hire. case went to the hearing in March of this year when the jury found Grayson guilty but acquitted her husband.

Grayson was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release. (iStock)

Grayson last month Sentenced to 120 months in prison the maximum sentence allowed for his crime and three years of probation. Because this is a federal case, he won’t be eligible for parole.

“This was a twenty-first century crime in which online fights and senseless rivalries spilled over into the real world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan. Fondren said in his statement: “The defendant tried to hire someone to kill a woman simply because of what happened online.”

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“Fortunately, no one was physically injured in this case, but the victim and her family still felt a significant and emotional impact as a result of the defendant’s actions,” the statement continued. “The proactive response of the investigative agencies and our prosecutors prevented a more serious crime from occurring.”