SPOKANE, WA – Senior United States District Judge William Fremming Nielsen today sentenced 56-year-old Ronald Craig Ilg of Spokane to 96 months in federal prison for hiring hitmen on the dark web to kidnap and assault multiple victims. It was the highest sentence available under the terms of Ilg’s plea agreement. In addition to ordering Ilg to spend eight years in federal prison, Judge Nielsen ordered him to pay more than $25,000 in restitution and a $100,000 fine. Ilg will also spend three years on federal supervision following his release from prison.
The case came to the FBI’s attention from an international news organization that was conducting an investigation for a series related to murder-for-hire services on the dark web, according to Court documents.
Regarding “victim #1,” a message sent by Ilg’s dark web persona
Scar215: “The target should be given a significant beating that is obvious. It should injure both hands significantly or break the hands. I tried to attach a pic but it wouldn’t load.”
Regarding “victim #2,” messages included:
Scar215: “I need a rush job for next week. “I need the target kidnapped for five to seven days. While being held she is given at least daily doses of heroin. She is also strongly persuaded to do a few things within two weeks. 1, stop ALL Court proceedings, 2, return to your husband and the chaos you created, 3. Tell absolutely no one about this. Also, the team should plant heroin and used needles with her DNA inside. After about seven days she is returned to her home”
Scar215: “The target destroyed two families and walked away as if she did nothing. I want the target kidnapped for 7 days. While being held, she will be given injections of heroin at least two times per day. She will be taught to do it herself and pics and videos of her doing on her own should be collected. Also, while being held, all means necessary will be done to get the following goals with in 2 weeks of her release. First, cancel all court proceedings immediately. Second, return to the chaos she left with her husband and the 3rd party she invited into the house, and third she will tell absolutely no one about her kidnapping and goals. She should be told that her families health, including her father and her kids, depend on her completing these rules. It would be unfortunate if her older boy became addicted to heroin. Or her dad be severely beaten or her dog be slaughtered. Any and all persuasion should be used. This needs to be done in two weeks”
From U.S. Attorneys Office:
Judge Nielsen described Ilg’s conduct as “really egregious, and even evil,” and highlighted that “not only were there numerous communications, you spent a lot of money to hire these people to ensure what you asked them to do would be done.” Finally, Nielsen emphasized that Ilg’s crimes were all the more egregious given his career as a doctor: “A doctor’s goal in life is to protect people, keeping people alive – not taking overt steps to do the opposite.”
According to court documents and information from the sentencing hearing, Ilg, a former neonatologist in Spokane, transmitted dozens of messages in early 2021 through the dark web as part of a plot to injure a former professional colleague and to have his estranged wife kidnapped. Using the moniker “Scar215” and password “Mufassa$$” to conceal his identity, Ilg sent more than $60,000 in Bitcoin in furtherance of his nefarious schemes.
With respect to the first victim, Ilg directed the purported hitmen to assault a Spokane-area doctor, specifying that the victim “should be given a significant beating that is obvious. It should injure both hands significantly or break the hands.” As part of this scheme, Ilg paid more than $2,000 in Bitcoin, sent the purported hitmen the victim’s address, and provided the hitmen with a link to the victim’s picture. In followup messages, Ilg directed “I would like to see evidence that it happened. If this goes well, I have another, more complicated job” for “[a]n entirely different target with entirely different objectives.”
Ilg also solicited purported hitmen to kidnap a second victim: his estranged wife. Specifically, Ilg directed that she be kidnapped and injected with heroin – all so she would drop divorce proceedings that were pending at the time and return to a failed relationship with Ilg. Even though Ilg was subject to a no-contact order, he devised a bonus structure if the victim was in fact kidnapped and certain goals were achieved. Ilg again promised the hitmen that he had “other jobs worth quite a bit to accomplish in the near future. So, if all goes well, then we can work together on a few other things also.” In all, Ilg paid more than $60,000 in Bitcoin so the hitmen would kidnap this victim.
After the FBI obtained copies of Ilg’s dark web messages, he also obstructed justice. First, during a voluntary interview with the FBI, Ilg falsely claimed he paid the hitmen to kill him, rather than his victims. Second, Ilg sent a letter to a key witness against him, begging the witness to marry him so he could control whether she testified. He even offered to pay tuition for the witness’s children to attend St. Aloysius Catholic School and Gonzaga Preparatory School. Ilg also directed the witness to destroy evidence by burning Ilg’s letter. More recently, and after pleading guilty to his crimes, Ilg sought “a book or movie deal” so that Ilg could obtain “a lot of financial gain” from his crimes.
“This case demonstrates how violent offenders exploit cyberspace and cryptocurrency to further their criminal agendas,” said Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “Mr. Ilg solicited and paid for multiple dark web hitmen to target the two victims in this case. Mr. Ilg even stated he would target additional victims if the hitmen followed through with the plan to harm these first two victims.” U.S. Attorney Waldref continued: “The amount of money Mr. Ilg paid to advance his schemes and his efforts to obstruct justice in this case indicate Mr. Ilg would stop at nothing to maintain control over his victims. Thankfully, the FBI learned of Mr. Ilg’s scheme and prevented him from following through on his plans to harm another doctor and kidnap his estranged wife. I am grateful to the tremendous investigative agents and Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Barker and Patrick Cashman, who spent significant time and resources to ensure that our community continues to be safe and strong, and that individuals who perpetrate violent and cyber crimes are held accountable.”
“Mr. Ilg’s actions read like plot of a true-crime show, but his intentions had real-life consequences,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Despite his efforts to remain anonymous and subsequently cover up his activities, our investigators were able to prevent innocent people from being harmed. This case demonstrates that even the anonymity of the dark web will not prevent the FBI from identifying and disrupting individuals who are intent on engaging in criminal activity. I am thankful for our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office, which brought Mr. Ilg to justice.”
“The victims in this case demonstrated incredible courage,” stated Assistant United States Attorney Richard Barker, who led the prosecution. “Even before Mr. Ilg sent his terrifying messages through the dark web and paid more than $60,000 to multiple purported hitmen, Mr. Ilg sought to manipulate and maintain control his victims – sending them harassing text messages, placing GPS trackers on their cars, and even subjecting them to domestic abuse. Following his arrest, Mr. Ilg even tried to thwart the case against him by obstructing justice. Incredibly, he even attempted to profit from his crimes by offering to sell his story to the media.” AUSA Barker continued, “I’m grateful for the victims’ willingness to stand up to Mr. Ilg. As a result of their courage and the incredible work of the FBI, Mr. Ilg – who was a doctor and had a clean criminal history – will spend the better part of the next decade in federal prison.”
This case was investigated by the Spokane Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Richard R. Barker and Patrick J. Cashman, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington, prosecuted this case. Brian M. Donovan, Civil Chief for the United States Attorney’s Office, assisted with seeking restitution and the imposition of a fine against Ilg.
From Court documents:
SENTENCE: Imprisonment: 96 Months Total – 48 Months each on Count 1S and Count 4S to be served CONSECUTIVE to one another with credit for any time served
Supervised Release: 3 Years on each Count CONCURRENT with one another with standard conditions plus special conditions: • No communication or other interaction with Witness 1, Victim 1, or Victim 2, either directly or through another party without prior permission of Probation Officer
• If you pose a risk to another person or organization, the Probation Officer may require you to notify that person of the risk
• Prohibited from using any software or device designed to hide, alter, or delete records/logs of your computer use
• You must only use your true name and identifiers for purposes of establishing credit, screen names, utility services, etc.
• Mental health evaluation and treatment/counseling, if recommended
• Report any and all electronic communication service accounts to Probation Officer including logins and passwords and report any new accounts or changes to identifiers and/or passwords
• Search of person, vehicle, and residence
• Cooperate in the collection of DNA as directed by Probation Officer
Fine: $100,000.00 interest waived
Restitution: $ 25,398.50 Total (Victim #1: $15,600.00; Victim #2: $9,798.50]
Special Assessment: $ 200.00 – Inmate Financial Responsibility Program
Court also GRANTED Government’s oral motion to dismiss Counts 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 of the Superseding Indictment.
Criminal Complaint: https://ecf.waed.uscourts.gov/doc1/19514051355
2:21-cr-00049-WFN
