On July 11, 2025, a federal jury in Ft. Lauderdale found Anthony Brillante II guilty of several charges related to a murder-for-hire plot. The charges included attempted murder of a U.S. employee, solicitation to commit violence, use of interstate commerce facilities for murder-for-hire, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Brillante was accused of plotting to kill the federal prosecutor and FBI Special Agent involved in his cyber harassment case by hiring a hitman.
Brillante's legal troubles began in August 2022 when he was arrested by the FBI for cyber harassing family members in New York. As a student at Florida International University (FIU), he used spoofed phone numbers to send thousands of threatening messages over 15 months to three victims: his cousin, her husband, and their daughter. He also targeted another cousin and her husband residing in Texas with similar threats.
In October 2023, just before his trial for cyber harassment was set to begin, Brillante paid $40,000 as part of the murder plot. On October 29, 2023, he met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman to arrange the murders of those involved in his prosecution and investigation. Despite these efforts, Brillante was convicted at his first trial for cyber harassment and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Sentencing for the murder-for-hire case is scheduled for October 1, 2025.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles from the FBI Miami Field Office.
The case was investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Deric Zacca prosecuting it from the Southern District of Florida. AUSA Daren Grove is managing asset forfeiture.
For more information or updates on this press release, visit the United States Attorney’s Office website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls or access related court documents on the District Court's website at www.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-60204.
