A Queens woman, Yue Zhou, has been indicted on charges of murder for hire, following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. Zhou allegedly used a dark web site to solicit a hitman, offering cryptocurrency, cash, and sexual favors.
Queens Woman Indicted for Hiring Hitman With Cryptocurrency on Dark Web
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Murder for Hire via Dark Web
The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a premier federal law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced last week that an HSI New York task force investigation has led to the indictment of a Queens woman on charges of murder for hire. Yue Zhou, 42, from Flushing, was apprehended in Virginia on June 5 and transferred to New York on July 3.
Special Agent Ivan J. Arvelo explained:
Yue Zhou is accused of offering cryptocurrency, cash and even sexual favors during her discussions related to having her then-partner’s spouse and adult daughter killed.
“Little did she know, the website she allegedly thought she was using to solicit a hitman was a farce, and the crimes of which she is accused soon caught up to her,” he added.
Between March 25 and April 4, 2019, Zhou attempted to hire a hitman through a dark web site to kill her partner’s wife. She used an alias and arranged a $5,000 bitcoin payment via a Ukrainian exchange service. Zhou also provided detailed information about the intended victim’s routines. Her efforts extended to her partner’s daughter in 2021, offering $10,000 and sexual favors to a neighbor to carry out the killing.
“The defendant took affirmative steps to hire a hitman for a ruthless killing,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace remarked. “Her depraved plan was only thwarted because the website she used to set up the murder-for-hire was a scam.”
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