He was looking for hitmen to kill his wife: one scammed him and another turned out to be an undercover FBI agent

Mohammed Chowdhury I had trouble finding a hitman to kill his wifefederal investigators allege in a criminal complaint.

The first person accepted Chowdhury’s money but ignored his request, an informant told the FBI in November.

So an undercover FBI agent contacted Chowdhury, according to the complaint, and offered his services in his place.

Chowdhury, of Boston, met with three undercover officers multiple times in December and January at various restaurants, according to the complaint. Apparently, He asked them to attack his wife and her boyfriendand finally agreed to pay agents $4,000 so they would kill both, according to investigators.

Chowdhury, 46, was arrested after allegedly paying a $500 advance last week. He was indicted on one count of contract killing, the Massachusetts prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday.

The public defender’s office representing Chowdhury declined to comment.

Chowdhury first met with undercover officers in early December, according to investigators, after one of the officers contacted him by phone.

In conversations through Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, Chowdhury allegedly told officers that his wife had cheated on him, thrown him out of the house and not allowed him to see their two children.

Investigators later found Boston Municipal Court records alleging Chowdhury had physically abused his wife and one of their children in 2017. The complaint claims Chowdhury was issued a restraining order, which authorities said he violated. in 2018.

Chowdhury was evasive when meeting with the undercover officers, according to the complaint, and on one occasion wrapped a scarf around his face and moved a meeting from a restaurant to his car for fear of being caught on security cameras. Apparently, he said he was afraid of the police and had never organized a murder before.

Over the course of several meetings described in the complaint, Chowdhury and the undercover officers haggled over the deal. Chowdhury allegedly initially requested that her wife and her boyfriend be seriously injured, but not killed, according to the complaint. He allegedly suggested that they beat the boyfriend “so he couldn’t survive or so he couldn’t leave town” or, alternatively, shoot him in the back and leave him paralyzed.

“We don’t leave witnesses, so for us it’s all or nothing”replied one of the undercover agents. “So you have to make a decision, whatever you want”.

In subsequent meetings, officers asked Chowdhury to confirm that he wanted his wife and her boyfriend killed, and Chowdhury said he did, according to the complaint.

For the beatings, the officers set a price of $10,000, which Chowdhury said he could not afford, according to the complaint.

“I thought it would be cheaperhe told the agents.

They eventually agreed on a price of $4,000, payable in installments, which Chowdhury said he would borrow to pay, according to the complaint. Chowdhury also reportedly asked the officers several times to confirm they were serious about the deal, saying he had been duped before.

On January 17, Chowdhury met one of the agents in a parking lot to deliver the first payment of $500, according to the complaint. He initially denied seeking murder, saying the deal was simply to “punish” his wife and her boyfriend.according to the complaint.

Chowdhury then, without being prompted, told officers that he was mentally stressed but was a good person and that his wife had caused him pain, according to the complaint. When an officer responded by saying Chowdhury had to “tell the truth,” he allegedly admitted that the payment was for a murder.

Chowdhury faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the Massachusetts prosecutor’s office. He is due to appear in court in early February.

© The Washington Post 2023