SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Scammer charged in plot to kill witness from prison

Oct 27, 2011, 8:37 AM | Updated: Mar 4, 2016, 5:59 am

The convicted mastermind of a $100 million mortgage scam was charged with plotting from prison to whack the “rat” who testified against him, the New York Daily News reported.

Aaron Hand is accused of turning to his parents and friends for money so he could hire a hitman for $2,000 to kill the witness who helped put him behind bars.

Hand was taped giving instructions to the hitman – actually an investigator from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office – on how to shoot the witness, his wife and their two kids at their home in Brooklyn and dump the bodies.

“No samples, no DNA, no gloves,” Hand said, according to court papers. “Wear something over your head.”

Hand, 39, was convicted last year of running a massive four-year scam through his Long Island company, AFG Financial Group. As part of the con, banks were scammed out of $100 million.

He’s serving an 8-25 year prison sentence for his part in the racket, in which approximately 30 people were convicted.

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