Utah man reportedly paid Bitcoin Hitmen to kill two people amid custody battle

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A man from Utah was recently accused of paying hitmen in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency for the murder of two people in the midst of a custody battle.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York on Friday announced the charges against Christopher Pence, 41, of Cedar City, Utah. According to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Pence “was indicted last week for using the Internet to solicit and pay for the murders of two people in Rensselaer County.”

According to a criminal complaint filed against Pence, the FBI first received information about Pence’s alleged actions from a confidential source on September 2. via The Onion Router (TOR) network representing a website user paying around $ 16,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency in return for the murder of two people residing in Hoosick Falls, New York.

The criminal complaint went on to say that Pence’s alleged communication with the contract killers occurred between July 16 and August 9. happen.

Specifically, the user advised that the murder should look like an accident or botched theft, and that, if possible, precautions should be taken not to injure any of the three children known to be under the control. custody of targeted victims, “the criminal complaint said.

During its investigation, the FBI discovered that the Bitcoin wallet used to upload the cryptocurrency to the DarkWeb site would belong to Pence, as his date of birth and social security number were associated with the account, according to the criminal complaint. The FBI also found that the IP address used to deposit the Bitcoin would belong to Pence.

In speaking with the targeted victims, who were not identified in the criminal complaint, the FBI discovered that the photographs allegedly uploaded by Pence matched their descriptions.

Additionally, interviews with the targeted victims revealed a motive for Pence, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, Pence’s family legally adopted five of the alleged victim’s children “and that there was an escalation of the dispute between the two families”, including the alleged victim’s desire to regain custody of their children. .

“In addition, Pence and the affected victims disagreed over how the children should be raised or the personal choices and lifestyle of the affected victims,” the criminal complaint said.

The victims targeted were never injured, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Pence was arrested in Utah on October 27 and is due to face trial in federal court in Albany “at a later date.” The criminal complaint said during an interview with the FBI after his arrest, Pence admitted that he was the user of the DarkWeb site in the communications obtained, that he had accessed the website to hire contract killers. and that he had provided the user with photographs of the intention victims.

If convicted, Pence faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, “a fine of up to $ 250,000 and a supervised release term of up to 3 years,” the prosecutor’s office said. .

Pence’s attorney declined to comment further.

A Utah man was recently indicted in an alleged scheme to pay hitmen in Bitcoin to kill two people. Above is a visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency, Bitcoin on October 23, 2017 in London. Dan Kitwood / Getty

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