An American woman, Kristy Lynn Felkins, tried to hire a hitman to murder her husband in exchange for Bitcoin. However, the affair turned into an outrageous scam that landed her in prison. Find out more about this dark tale of cryptocurrency, betrayal and justice.
In a case worthy of a noir novel, Kristy Lynn Felkins, a 38-year-old woman living in the USA, found herself involved in a murderous plot that shook her life forever. In 2016, she decided to get rid of her husband by recruiting a hitman on the Darknet, for 12 bitcoins, the equivalent of $5,000 at the time, but now reportedly worth over $360,000.
After contacting the administrator of the “Besa Mafia” site on the Darknet, Kristy Lynn Felkins spent four months talking to him, revealing her dark intentions to get rid of her husband for financial reasons. She hoped to reclaim her pension, their home and a large life insurance payout.
A dark use of bitcoin!
Showing a frightening determination, she made the payment in Bitcoin, believing that her macabre plans would be carried out. However, the truth would soon come out: the “Besa Mafia” website was nothing but a scam, and the administrator managed to abscond with the sum without anything happening. The so-called “hitman” never existed.
But mistakes often catch up with their perpetrators. After several years on the run, Kristy Lynn Felkins was finally arrested and put on trial for her attempted murder. At the trial, her husband said he was “very, very surprised” to learn of her murderous intentions, although he stressed that their divorce had been rather “cordial“. He also praised Kristy as a loving mother.
Faced with the gravity of her actions, Kristy Lynn Felkins expressed her gratitude that the “Besa Mafia” website had turned out to be a scam, and that her husband had not been hurt. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison for “facilitating the commission of a contract killing”, initially facing a 10-year sentence.
This case also highlights the fact that Bitcoin transactions in no way guarantee anonymity. Contrary to some beliefs, cryptocurrency transactions can be traced by the authorities, which led to the arrest of Kristy Lynn Felkins.
As for the “Besa Mafia” site, it is now offline, and the Justice Department has not disclosed details of how it discovered the case. This dark and tragic story is a reminder that the use of cryptocurrencies in criminal activity does not go unpunished, and that the law is enforced by the justice system.
