A medical doctor in Georgia has been sentenced to seven years behind bars after setting out to find a hitman on the dark web to have his girlfriend killed, according to the Daily Mail. The dark web is characterized as the underbelly of the internet, which includes websites that are not typically found on popular search engines.
Dr. James Wan, 54, was sentenced on Thursday in Atlanta federal court. The verdict comes after Wan pleaded guilty in October to a single count of using a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said that “[t]his defendant believed he could mask his homicidal intentions by using electronic means.”
“By using the dark web to conceal his search for someone to kill his girlfriend, Wan expected to evade detection, even going as far as using crypto currency to pay for the crime.”
Wan was an internal medicine specialist from an Atlanta suburb. The report added that he transferred more than $16,000 in Bitcoin to a marketplace on the dark web to find someone who would kill his girlfriend. While the girlfriend was targeted for murder, she was not harmed.
The FBI placed her in protective custody before any serious action could be taken.
“Despite his cowardly concealment on the dark web, Wan’s cold hearted murderous plot was averted due to the exceptional work of our team. He will now face the full consequences of the criminal justice system,” Keri Farley said, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the North District of Georgia.
“This case shows that the FBI will not tolerate heinous acts of violence and will go to great lengths to protect our citizens.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that Buchanan presented the following statement in court: “On April 18, 2022, while in the Northern District of Georgia, Wan accessed a dark web marketplace from his cellular telephone and submitted an order to have a hitman murder his girlfriend. The order included the victim’s name, address, Facebook account, license plate, and car description. In the order, Wan stated: ‘Can take wallet phone and car. Shoot and go. Or take car.’ Wan then electronically transferred a 50% downpayment of approximately $8,000 worth of Bitcoin to the dark web marketplace.”
Wan faced a maximum penalty of ten years behind bars.
The Daily Mail noted that an attorney representing Wan in the case did not return a request for comment.
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