(Trends Wide) — A Texas businessman and three other people accused of conspiring in a kidnapping and murder-for-hire plot were arrested last week, the US Department of Justice said.
Erik Charles Maund began emailing a woman with whom he had been in a previous relationship in February 2020 and made plans to see her when she visited Nashville later that month, prosecutors say. After their visit, Maund, who is married, received a series of text messages from a man who was in a romantic relationship with the same woman.
The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department identified the couple as Holly Williams, 33, and William Lanway, 36.
During the text message exchange, Lanway threatened to expose Maund’s relationship with Williams if he did not receive “some kind of monetary payment” to keep him silent, according to the indictment filed Monday.
Maund allegedly recruited Gilad Peled, Byron Brockway, and Adam Carey to help him with the extortion threats. Peled introduced himself as a former member of the Israel Defense Forces, Brockway is a veteran serving Marine, and Carey previously served in the Marine Corps Special Operations Group, according to the Justice Department.
Holly Williams (age 33 and left) and Erik Charles Maund (who was married) were dating, so William Lanway (age 36 and right), who was also in a Williams relationship, began texting Maund. From this situation follows the kidnapping on request.
They are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, and carrying, wielding and shooting a firearm during and in connection with a crime of violence. According to online records, there was no attorney listed for each of the murder-for-hire suspects. If convicted, they face a life sentence.
The kidnapping and murder plot
The plot against Lanway and Williams began around March 5, 2020, when Maund withdrew $ 15,000 from his bank account and an “intelligence report” was prepared and provided to Peled “by a relative of Brockway’s who worked for a business company. Internet-based security, “according to the indictment.
Six days later, Maund transferred $ 150,000 in cash to an account controlled by Peled while Brockway and Carey, armed with pistols, confronted the couple in an apartment complex, according to the indictment. Lanway, the alleged extortionist, was shot dead, and Williams was allegedly abducted by Brockway and Carey. They drove in a rental car with Lanway’s body to a construction site and then shot Williams dead, according to the indictment.
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At some point after the murders, Maund transferred nearly $ 750,000 to Peled, who paid the others for the kidnapping and murder of the couple, prosecutors allege.
On Friday, agents from the FBI and the Nashville Metropolitan Police detained the men in various locations around the country. All of them will appear for the first time before the magistrates of the districts in which they were arrested and will be returned to the Middle District of Tennessee at a later date to continue with the proceedings, according to the Department of Justice.
