Ashley Grayson, a 35-year-old internet entrepreneur from Dallas, Texas, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a murder-for-hire scheme.

Grayson targeted three individuals, including a woman from Southaven, Mississippi. The social media influencer believed that the woman had created fake profiles to criticize her business and attack her reputation on social media.

In September 2022, Grayson met with a Memphis couple, offering them $20,000 per victim in a bid to murder three different people. Additionally, Grayson was heard offering the couple in a recorded phone call an additional $5,000 if they could move quickly on the Southaven woman's life. The pair never met in person, and the woman had a business similar to Grayson's.

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Grayson, who claimed to have earned "one million in 60 minutes," and her husband, Joshua, were indicted in July 2023, but while Joshua was acquitted, Ashley was found guilty in March 2024. On October 31, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Grayson to the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, along with three years of supervised release.

"This was a 21st-century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world. The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet," said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren. "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."

The other individuals she tried having killed was her ex-boyfriend and a Texas woman who had made negative social media posts about Grayson.

The former business owner has been chronicling her experiences throughout the situation to her personal Facebook account. She continues to share videos as well as documents related to the case.

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"Exactly 2 weeks until I'm a #fedbae," she wrote in September. "No matter the outcome I know God has my back. Lord watch over my kids and keep them out of harms way. My husband, I can't Thank You enough for standing beside me through it all."

According to legal documents shared by Grayson herself, she is ordered to surrender to federal custody to begin serving her prison sentence on December 19.

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The hitman’s name was omitted from the complaint, and it lists only the initials D.H. for the potential victim. However, investigators determined the Graysons were in contact with someone to carry out the murder between Aug. 26, 2022, and Sept. 11, 2022. #foryou #fyp #newstiktok #news #gossipgurlbk #ashleygrayson #joshuagrayson #tiktoker #crimenews #dailynews

♬ Suspense, horror, piano and music box - takaya

"Make sure y'all write me cousinnnnnsss...12/19 by 2pm sharp!" she wrote alongside her order to surrender. There is no parole in the federal system.

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Crime