A Boston man's twisted plot to murder his former wife and her boyfriend for $4,000 each has landed him over six years behind bars, officials say. Mohammed Chowdhury, 47, was handed a 92-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release after attempting to engage a hitman to carry out the cold-blooded killings, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Chowdhury's violent scheme came to light after an associate turned him in November 2022, revealing that he had previously paid for the deadly service but was cheated; the man pocketed the cash without completing the job, and that pushed Chowdhury to seek out a new assassin, expressing urgency in the matter even considering to rob a store if necessary to get the funds for the murder. In disturbing exchanges with an undercover agent he believed to be a contract killer, Chowdhury laid out the plan in chilling detail—providing photographs, addresses, and work schedules of his targets.

At the sentencing, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy didn't mince words, stating, "Mr. Chowdhury literally thought he could get away with murder," as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Division lauded the agency's Violent Crimes Task Force for stopping what she described as a "deadly and horrific plot."

The investigation revealed how Chowdhury's intense hatred for his ex-wife drove him—he blamed her "westernization and independent thinking" for not seeing his children. He wanted to punish her and her new partner, telling undercover agents, "No evidence. No evidence. No evidence from like, you know, that, uh, I did something, you know?" Chowdhury was caught right after giving a $500 deposit on January 17, 2023, thinking the murders would go smoothly. Instead, he was arrested and his evil plan failed, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prior incidents had flagged Chowdhury as a threat; court records showed a 2019 charge for violating an Abuse Prevention Order against his ex-wife, to which he pleaded to sufficient facts resulting in a continuance without a finding. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke A. Goldworm and John T. Dawley of the Criminal Division, with crucial assistance from the Boston Police Department, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen.