Glitz, Glamour & Murder-for-Hire: Memphis social media star sentenced to federal prison
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A Memphis social media star promised to help you make millions. But federal prosecutors say she was willing to use her own money for murder.
A federal judge sentenced Ashley Grayson to 120 months in prison, the maximum sentence allowed for murder-for-hire.
FOX13 Investigative Reporter Kayla Solomon dug through sentencing documents. She found new information about the money offered, and an attempt to trick Grayson with another Memphis crime scene.
Grayson made internet fame with a rags-to-riches Memphis story. She says she opened her business with an overdrawn bank account. She claimed she made $1 million in just 60 minutes.
She became an instant social media star and opened an online course pledging to help people fix their credit and make their own fortune.
Grayson showed off her glamourous lifestyle online. She shared pictures of her mansion in North Carolina. Video of her engagement showed Grayson on a yacht with a private serenade by R&B star Monica.
FOX13 covered Grayson as she gave a free house away to a Memphis mother.
Behind the fame and fortune, however, was fury.
The US Attorney’s Office says Grayson asked a Memphis woman and her boyfriend to fly to Dallas to discuss a “business opportunity.”
“Grayson offered to pay the Memphis couple to kill three different people”, according to Reagan Fondren, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
The first intended victim was a woman from Southaven who operated an online business similar to Grayson’s. The U.S. Attorney says Grayson suspected the woman of creating fake online profiles that criticized Grayson and her business.
The second intended victim was Grayson’s ex-boyfriend.
The third was a Texas woman who made negative social media posts about Grayson.
The U.S. Attorney says Grayson offered to pay the Memphis woman $20,000 for each murder. She would get a $5,000 bonus if she killed the Southaven woman within a week.
The murders were never carried out. However, the U.S. Attorney says the couple still tried to collect money.
The couple sent Grayson a picture of police lights from an unrelated crime scene in Memphis, according to Fondren. They claimed they attempted to kill a victim but were unsuccessful. The couple demanded $10,000 for the attempt. They also traveled back to Dallas to try to collect that money.
In March 2024, a jury acquitted Grayson’s husband, Joshua, of murder-for-hire but found Grayson guilty. A judge sentenced her to 10 years in federal prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
“This murder-for-hire plot underscores the strength of joint federal law enforcement efforts to ensure the safety of the citizens in our community,” said Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office, Memphis Resident Agency. “This sentence demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and our partners to investigate violent crimes and root out those who seek to prey on the public.”
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