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Maine Man Charged with Murder-For-Hire Scheme
In a shocking turn of events, Hyunkook Korsiak, a 41-year-old man from Augusta, Maine, has been charged with participating in a murder-for-hire scheme in Midtown Manhattan. The scheme, which was uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), allegedly involved Korsiak agreeing to murder a fictitious businessman in exchange for a payment of $50,000.
According to the FBI, Korsiak was arrested on March 8, 2023, in Tarrytown, New York, after traveling from Maine to make his final preparations for the murder. During the arrest, FBI agents found Korsiak in possession of four firearms, including two AR-15 rifles and two 9MM semi-automatic pistols.
Korsiak has a prior federal felony conviction for theft from a licensed firearms dealer, dating back to 2017. He is now facing one count of murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of possession of a firearm following a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and could result in Korsiak facing up to 25 years in prison. The charges against Korsiak were announced by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI.
Korsiak’s plot to commit murder was uncovered after communications expressing his desire to kill a person for money were intercepted by the Bureau of Prisons. Over the course of the last two months, Korsiak met with an undercover FBI agent on multiple occasions in both New York and Boston and agreed to murder a fictitious businessman who was purported to be staying at a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
During one of the meetings with the undercover agent, Korsiak described how he intended to commit the murder and what weapons he planned on using, including an AR-15 rifle and a 9MM pistol that he possessed. He also asked the undercover agents to provide him with silencers for the two weapons and a latex mask so that he could defeat facial recognition technology.
Korsiak’s plan also included the use of a police uniform in an effort to evade capture after he committed the murder. Thankfully, and unbeknownst to Korsiak, he plotted with undercover FBI agents and the intended victim was fictitious. The FBI will not tolerate such acts of violence, and any individual willing to cold heartedly kill another person will be made to face the consequences in the criminal justice system.
Korsiak is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge James L. Cott. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and could result in Korsiak facing up to 25 years in prison.
Hyunkook Korsiak, 41, of Augusta, Maine, is charged with one count of murder-for-hire and one count of possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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