FBI’s Murder-For-Hire Crypto Investigation

Nov 3, 2025

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The murder-for-hire case of Ron Ilg, seems like it was pulled directly from a Netflix documentary, but this is a real life case involving cryptocurrency and multiple FBI agents. Beth Bisbee (Director Product Strategy, Chainalysis Government Solutions) leads the discussion with the Supervisory Special Agent, Forensic Analyst and Special Agent that were tasked with this complex and riveting case.

This FBI-led investigation involving a murder-for-hire case facilitated via the dark web, featuring cryptocurrency payments, seed phrases on sticky pads, guns, cash and biometric safes.

The team details their journey, from the initial tip-off involving a custody dispute and an alleged plot to harm a spouse, to navigating the complexities of tracing cryptocurrency on the blockchain. The discussion zeros in on how the newly created Virtual Currency Response Team played a critical role in unraveling this case by leveraging blockchain analysis despite the perpetrator's attempts to obfuscate transactions using mixers. With cooperative efforts involving international exchanges and Bitcoin ATMS.

This gripping discussion highlights how the FBI team unraveled the complexities of the case using modern investigative techniques involving blockchain forensic analysis and traditional detective methods combined to thwart a potentially tragic crime.

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

2 | FBI Agents Entrance To Crypto By Using It To Investigate Darknet Markets

5 | Exploring the Murder-For-Hire Case of Ron Ilg

8 | Introduction of the Virtual Currency Response (VCR) Team

12 | Major Breakthrough in Case When Reconstituting Crypto Wallets

17 | Connecting Intelligence From Exchanges and Bitcoin ATMs

22 | Main Accelerants in the Case That Drove Huge Results

25 | Finding the Seed Phrase Safe at Ron’s House Changed Dynamic of Case

29 | Challenges and Hurdles That Arose During the Investigation

33 | The FBI Leverages Previous Murder-For-Hire Case in Investigation

35 | Analyzing Ron Ilg’s Plea Deal and Sentencing

37 | The Biggest Takeaways for the FBI in this Crypto Investigation

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Speakers on today’s episode

Beth Bisbee (Director Product Strategy, Chainalysis Government Solutions)
Supervisory Special Agent (SSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))
Special Agent (SA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))
Forensic Analyst, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI))

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