BOSTON (DOJ) – A Boston man pleaded guilty today to trying to hire a contract killer to murder his wife and the wife’s boyfriend.
Mohammed Chowdhury, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for April 23, 2024. Chowdhury was arrested and charged in January 2023 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2023. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
“Mr. Chowdhury’s callousness and disregard for human life is shocking. Not only did he ignore the restraining order filed against him by his wife, he sought to have her and her boyfriend killed,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case is a stark reminder of the heinous nature of domestic violence and its potential to escalate into unthinkable acts. Violence, especially within the confines of domestic relationships, has no place here in Massachusetts, and we will use every available resource to ensure the safety of those at risk.”
“Mohammed Chowdhury not only wanted to kill his wife; he was willing to kill her new boyfriend too. Given his complete lack of respect for human life, there’s no question he belongs behind bars, and today’s conviction ensures that will happen,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “FBI Boston’s Violent Crimes Task Force worked quickly to disrupt this deadly plot and is committed to doing everything it can to take violent criminals like Chowdhury off the street for the safety of all Bostonians.”
In November 2022, an individual notified law enforcement that Chowdhury was soliciting assistance in having his wife murdered. The individual said that Chowdhury had paid someone to conduct the murder for hire, but that they took the money and did not follow through with Chowdhury’s request. Chowdhury subsequently told the individual that he needed the murder done as soon as possible and that he would get the money to do so, even robbing a store if necessary to obtain the funds. The individual provided Chowdhury’s phone number to law enforcement, who thereafter used an undercover agent posing as a contract killer to communicate with Chowdhury about his murder for hire plot.
On numerous occasions in December 2022 and January 2023, Chowdhury met with undercover agents posing as the contract killer and their associates, to seek help with killing his wife and her new boyfriend, whom she left him for. During these meetings and communications, Chowdhury explained that his wife wouldn’t let him see his children and that he wanted the undercover agents to rob and beat his wife and her boyfriend so that he would not be a suspect. Chowdhury asked, “So how we gonna disappear his, uh, body?” and stated, “No evidence. No evidence. No evidence from like, you know, that, uh, I did something, you know?” Chowdhury provided the undercover agents with photographs of his wife and her new boyfriend, where they lived, where they worked and their work schedules. Chowdhury ultimately agreed to pay $4,000 per murder, with a deposit of $500.
Chowdhury met with the undercover agents on Jan. 17, 2023, provided the $500 deposit and confirmed that he wanted the murders committed. Chowdhury was then immediately taken into federal custody.
In October 2019, Chowdhury was charged in Boston Municipal Court – Roxbury Division with violating an Abuse Prevention Order prohibiting him from abusing, contacting, or coming within a certain distance of his wife. Chowdhury pleaded to sufficient facts and received a continuance without a finding.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
