A Texas internet businesswoman who reportedly once made a million dollars in an hour, plotted to have a rival whom she had never met killed over online comments.
Ashley Grayson, 35, of Dallas, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and three years supervised release in connection with a murder-for-hire plot involving a Mississippi woman, according to prosecutors.
"This was a 21st century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world," Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren said in a statement. "The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet."
Grayson, a digital content creator and entrepreneur, first rose to fame after creating Digital Course Recipe, claiming she made $1 million within an hour of its launch, according to the Atlanta Black Star. She grew more famous after R&B star Monica performed during her engagement party on a yacht, the outlet reported.
In 2021, Grayson accused a Southaven, Mississippi woman, whom she had never met but ran an online business similar to hers, of creating fake social media profiles and posting criticisms of Grayson's business.
The next year, Grayson presented a former co-worker in Memphis with a triple-murder-for-hire proposition, said prosecutors. Grayson allegedly offered at least $20,000 for each of the killings of the Southaven woman, Grayson's ex-boyfriend, and a Texas woman who made negative comments about her on social media.
In September 2022, the Memphis woman and her husband video-recorded a phone call with Grayson, during which she "offered an extra $5,000 for the murder" of the Mississippi woman "to be carried out in the next week," prosecutors said. Later, the Memphis woman and her husband duped Grayson into believing they tried to kill the woman and demanded $10,000 for the attempt.
In March 2024, Grayson was convicted of use of interstate facility in commission of murder-for-hire, according to prosecutors. Her husband, Joshua Grayson, was acquitted of the same charge.
"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," Fondren said. "The proactive response from the investigating agencies and our prosecutors prevented an even more serious crime from occurring."
