United States v. Dvorkin

Texas 1845, LLC acquired distressed loans owed by Daniel Dvorkin (defendant) and his company. After Dvorkin failed to repay the loans, Texas 1845 obtained a judgment of over $8 million against Dvorkin. In response, Dvorkin attempted to hire someone to kill Larry Meyer, Texas 1845’s manager. On April 5, 2012, Dvorkin contacted Robert Bevis, a firearms dealer, and told Bevis that he was willing to pay $50,000 for Meyer’s murder. Bevis lied to Dvorkin and told him that he knew a man in Florida who would accept the job. Dvorkin gave Bevis a copy of Meyer’s LinkedIn profile for information on how to find Meyer. Bevis contacted the police and became a cooperating witness. Between April 18 and May 7, Dvorkin and Bevis exchanged phone calls and met to discuss the terms of the murder, including the price. On May 7, Dvorkin told Bevis that he had hired a different person to commit the murder for $20,000. The United States government (plaintiff) charged Dvorkin with soliciting murder in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 373(a), a federal statute that prohibited a person from soliciting another person to commit a violent federal crime. Dvorkin was convicted, and he appealed, arguing that he did not intend for Bevis to hire someone to murder Meyer and that he did not solicit a murder because he and Bevis did not reach an economic agreement.