Ashley Grayson, a Dallas-based influencer and self-proclaimed eight-figure business coach, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for orchestrating a murder-for-hire scheme. The 35-year-old attempted to pay a Memphis couple $20,000 per target to kill three people, including a business rival, her ex, and a social media critic.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, Grayson contacted the couple in 2022 under the guise of offering a “business opportunity.” She later proposed the murders during an in-person meeting, offering additional cash incentives for quick action.
The couple agreed to the plan but instead reported Grayson to law enforcement, providing video evidence of her outlining the plot. In the footage, Grayson offered an extra $5,000 to ensure one target, a rival business owner in Mississippi, was eliminated within the week.
To maintain the ruse, the couple later sent Grayson a fake video showing police lights, claiming they were caught during an “attempt” to carry out the murder. Grayson then paid them $10,000 for their supposed effort.
Grayson was arrested and found guilty of murder-for-hire charges. On Nov. 24, she was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 120 months in prison, with no chance of parole due to the federal nature of the case.
“This was a 21st-century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world,” Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren said. “The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet.”
Grayson’s online persona as a philanthropist and course creator drew widespread attention, but the darker side of her dealings shocked many of her followers. Her husband was acquitted of any involvement in the case.
