Ashley Grayson, 35, a woman from Dallas, Texas, who ran an online business, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot.

Grayson, who gained attention for her online presence, was found guilty of attempting to have a rival businesswoman killed due to a personal and professional dispute.

Wait! Have y’all been following this Ashley Grayson story?! Her and her husband were indicted by the FBI for racketeering and m*rder. 😳 pic.twitter.com/Kn6N1hiFqK

— Nicole ✨ (@BombshellCole) July 6, 2023

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Grayson, who described herself on her Instagram account as a bestseller, eight-figure business coach, course creator, and philanthropist, was convicted by a jury in March 2023.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Tennessee, Grayson’s actions were linked to a falling out with a woman from Southaven, Mississippi, who operated an online business similar to Grayson’s. The Southaven woman was the intended target of the plot.

Grayson believed that the woman was behind fake online profiles that had been critical of her business, though the two had never met in person.

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In August 2022, Grayson contacted a woman from Memphis, Tennessee, with whom she had worked in the past, to discuss a “business opportunity.” This meeting set the stage for the murder-for-hire plot.

The Memphis woman, along with her husband, traveled to Dallas in September 2022 to meet with Grayson and her husband, Joshua.

During this meeting, Grayson offered the couple at least $20,000 to kill not only the Southaven woman but also her former boyfriend and a Texas woman who had recently posted social media comments criticizing Grayson.

On September 10, 2022, the Memphis woman recorded a video call with Grayson, during which Grayson confirmed that she wanted the Southaven woman killed as soon as possible.

She even offered an additional $5,000 for the job to be completed within the following week.

The Memphis couple, in an attempt to deceive Grayson, later sent her a photo of police lights from an unrelated incident in Memphis, suggesting they had failed in their attempt to carry out the killings.

They then demanded $10,000, half of the agreed-upon amount, as payment for the “failed attempt.” The couple traveled back to Dallas, where they met Grayson and Joshua to collect the $10,000.

In July 2023, Grayson and her husband were indicted by a Tennessee grand jury for using an interstate facility in the commission of a murder-for-hire plot.

Grayson stood trial in March 2023, where a jury found her guilty, though her husband was acquitted of all charges.

Grayson was sentenced in October 2023 to 120 months in federal prison, the maximum sentence allowed for her crime.

In addition to her prison term, she was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. As this was a federal case, Grayson will not be eligible for parole.

“This was a twenty-first century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world,” Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren said in a statement following the sentencing. “The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet.”

Fondren emphasized the emotional toll the crime took on the victim and her family. “Fortunately, no one was physically hurt in this case, but the victim and her family still felt a severe and emotional impact as the result of the defendant’s actions,” he said. “The proactive response from the investigating agencies and our prosecutors prevented an even more serious crime from occurring.”

This case highlights the dangers of online disputes escalating into real-world criminal activity.

Grayson’s attempt to use a hired killer to resolve a personal conflict underscores the potential for violence when online tensions spill over into offline actions.