NEW YORK, NY – A New York bank manager was sentenced to nearly ten years in federal prison on Tuesday after admitting to a plot to murder her brother-in-law. The scheme, concocted through social media and messaging apps, was uncovered before it could be carried out.

Reshma Massarone, 40, received a nine-and-a-half-year sentence for her part in the scheme, which took place between July and August 2023. She pled guilty in March after communicating her plans to a purported accomplice, who turned out to be an undercover informant.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York revealed that Massarone sought the aid of an individual described as a long-time friend of the victim and an officer in Guyana. She approached him through Facebook Messenger, offering $10,000 to hire a hitman.

Massarone was recorded agreeing to send an initial payment of $2,500, which she wired from a Walgreens Western Union kiosk. Following the transaction, she sent a photo of the receipt via WhatsApp, sealing her involvement.

Her plan began to fall apart when the intended victim and his wife reported the plot to the U.S. Embassy in Guyana. They had learned about the scheme from the undercover informant. Subsequent phone calls between Massarone and the informant, recorded and translated by a DEA agent, provided further evidence of her intentions.

In court documents, Massarone claimed she had been the target of a 25-year campaign of harassment by her brother-in-law, dating back to when he unsuccessfully proposed to her at the age of 15. She said he had consistently attempted to sabotage her professional and personal life, even targeting her children.

Prosecutors argued that Massarone minimized her actions and lied during her plea allocution. Despite this, the defense asserted that she was acting out of character and in a state of rage due to long-term provocation.

At sentencing, the U.S. Attorney criticized Massarone’s plan as both heartless and chilling, highlighting the severe implications of her actions. The case underscores the serious criminal liabilities of soliciting violence through digital communications, even when the plot fails to materialize.