The sentencing date for a former online course coach and popular social media figure who was convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme has been pushed back to October.
Ashley Grayson was found guilty in federal court in March for one count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire.
Grayson and her husband, Joshua, were criminally indicted last summer for the plot. Prosecutors alleged that the Mississippi-based couple contacted a contract killer in Tennessee between August and September 2022 and paid that individual to murder a person identified in the federal indictment as “D.H.” That individual was not harmed.
While Ashley Grayson was found guilty, her husband Joshua was acquitted.
Grayson earned widespread popularity after reportedly making $1 million less than an hour after launching her online business, Digital Course Recipe, in 2021, through which she taught people to turn their passions into a profitable online course.
What furthered her online stardom was a lavish proposal to Joshua Grayson, which featured a performance from R&B singer Monica on a rented yacht. Videos and pictures of the event went viral, which earned the couple a massive social media following.
The year after their engagement, allegations started circulating that the success Ashley Grayson garnered from her online business was greatly exaggerated and that the money she made was actually from a worker’s compensation settlement after she lost a finger at her old job.
One woman accused Grayson of cheating her out of $2,000 after she bought the course.
In 2022, Grayson filed a defamation lawsuit against a financial coach named Derricka Harwell, alleging that a comment Harwell posted under one of Grayson’s Facebook posts was “false, defamatory, and injurious.”
The suit claimed that Harwell’s post “permanently damaged” Grayson’s personal reputation “online and around the world” and made people believe that Grayson “stalked and harassed” Harwell.
The Graysons have been completely mute on the indictments and the conviction. Many people who followed the couple’s journey expressed shock at Grayson’s case shortly after the federal charges were filed.
Joshua Grayson recently posted on his public Facebook page, “Blk people show grace for every race but their own! You will never see another race celebrate the downfall of one of their own.”
Several commenters sided with Grayson’s viewpoint. Others argued that it’s important to differentiate between people who “celebrate downfalls” and others who demand accountability.
“You are exactly right,” one person said in agreement. “Only black people do this.”
“I don’t think most black people celebrate their own people’s downfall, but when our people do deplorable things to others they should be held accountable for their actions,” another person said.
In response to opposing stances in the comments, Grayson wrote, “You can’t hold anyone accountable you don’t have a relationship with. But you can pray mercy and grace!”
Ashley Grayson’s sentencing was originally scheduled in July and has been postponed twice.
She’ll be sentenced on Oct. 31, facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
