File Photo.
PHILADELPHIA - A North Carolina man was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison Monday for attempting to pay an individual to kill two people residing in the Philadelphia area.
What we know:
Xin Guang Guo, 48, of Plymouth, North Carolina, was sentenced to 188 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III delivered the sentence after Guo pleaded guilty in April to two counts of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire.
Timeline:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) initiated an investigation on Sept. 30, 2025, after receiving text messages detailing Guo’s attempt to hire someone to murder his former business partner and the partner's paramour, according to a release issued Monday.
In monitored phone calls, Guo negotiated a $30,000 contract to pay $15,000 for each death, investigators said. On Oct. 6, 2025, Guo traveled to Philadelphia and met with an undercover ATF officer posing as a hitman.
During the meeting, Guo provided $2,500 for the purchase of a firearm and requested photographic proof of the deaths prior to paying the remaining balance, per the release. ATF agents arrested Guo in his vehicle shortly after the exchange.
What they're saying:
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf noted that federal law penalizes attempting to arrange a murder, regardless of whether the act is completed in the release.
"The defendant orchestrated the death of two people," he said in a statement. "It does not matter whether you pull the trigger or pay someone else to do it. It also does not matter that, in this case, the plan failed. Anyone who takes action to take the life of another faces a lengthy stay in federal prison."
The Source: Information from the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.