Priscilla Ellis Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot

Priscilla Ellis, a 51-year-old woman from Killeen, Texas, has been charged in a chilling murder-for-hire scheme aimed at silencing witnesses who testified against her in a federal fraud trial. Prosecutors say the plot was launched the day after her conviction, targeting a key government witness and the mother of a cooperating defendant.

The criminal complaint, unsealed in Tampa, Florida, reveals Ellis began soliciting a fellow inmate to help her hire a hit man on October 22, 2016—just one day after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and international money laundering. During recorded conversations with the inmate and undercover FBI agents posing as co-conspirators, Ellis detailed her plans with cold precision.

Ellis specifically instructed that the key witness and the witness’s child be killed, if necessary, to ensure silence. She also described in graphic detail how she wanted the cooperating witness’s mother to be murdered. The discussions, captured by law enforcement, exposed a calculated effort to eliminate those who helped convict her.

To fund the killings, Ellis arranged for her daughter in Texas to deliver money obtained from another ongoing fraudulent scheme to the supposed hit man. The transfer was made at Ellis’s direction and accepted by undercover agents, solidifying the paper trail of her intent.

Ellis is charged with retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant—a federal offense carrying a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. The case underscores the federal government’s aggressive stance against witness intimidation, especially in organized fraud and money laundering prosecutions.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Gerard and Patrick Scruggs are prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is not a conviction—Priscilla Ellis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.