Austin auto dealer allegedly tried to have co-conspirator killed while in prison
NASHVILLE, Tenn - An Austin auto dealer in prison for a murder-for-hire plot allegedly tried to pay to have one of his co-conspirators killed, according to a federal indictment.
47-year-old Erik Charles Maund, 48-year-old Gilad Peled, and 47-year-old Bryon Brockway, all of Austin, and 31-year-old Adam Carey of Richlands, North Carolina, have all been indicted by a federal grand jury with murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap resulting in death, and kidnapping resulting in death.
Maund, a partner in Maund Automotive Group, is also accused of trying to pay to have one of his co-conspirators killed because they were asking for more money for the March 2020 murder of Holly Williams and William Lanway of Nashville.
If convicted, all four men face up to life in prison.
Erik Charles Maund, 46, of Austin
According to the indictment, Maund sometimes traveled to Nashville to visit a relative and in Feb. 2020, he emailed Holly Williams with whom he had had a prior relationship in order to see her during an upcoming visit.
On March 1, 2020, Maund allegedly received a series of texts from William Lanway, who had a personal romantic relationship with Williams, demanding payment and threatening to expose Maund's relationship if he did not receive it.
The indictment alleges that Maund then enlisted Peled, who held himself out to be a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces and owner of Speartip Security; Brockway, a former active-duty Marine who previously served in a Special Operations Capable unit and owner of Ink Force LLC; and Carey, a former active-duty Marine who had previously served in the Marine Corps’ Special Operations Group, to help deal with the threats and extortion demands.
Maund then allegedly withdrew $15,000 from his bank account on March 5, 2020, and that same day, an "intelligence report" was prepared and provided to Peled by a relative of Brockway who worked for an internet-based security company, says the indictment.
The indictment goes on to allege that Carey and others undertook other actions, including traveling to Nashville to surveil the couple and creating and using a Pinger account to attempt to communicate with them.
On March 9, 2020, Peled allegedly received a document entitled "Tennessee Sitrep" that stated Carey and others had surveilled Williams, confirming her address and vehicle and that Lanway had been staying at the same address, and advised that Carey and others would use everything at their disposal to stop the attempted extortion of Maund, says the US Attorney's Office.
On March 11, 2020, Peled allegedly deposited $8,000 in cash into Speartip Security’s business account and $7,000 in cash into his personal bank account, and the following day, Maund allegedly wire-transferred $150,000 from his bank account to a bank account controlled by Peled.
(L-R) Holly Williams and William Lanway
On that same day, Brockway and Carey allegedly confronted Williams and Lanway in the parking lot of Williams' Nashville apartment complex and murdered Lanway by shooting him multiple times. They then allegedly kidnapped Williams and drove her and Lanway's body to a construction site, where they allegedly murdered her by shooting her several times.
The indictment alleges that the bodies were then discarded at the construction site and within hours of the murders, the Pinger account used to communicate was deleted, and a rental car rented by Brockway was returned. Carey then allegedly drove Brockway to Memphis, Tennessee, and Brockway caught a flight to Austin. Carey then reportedly drove to Austin from Memphis.
The indictment also alleges that between March 11, 2020, and now, Maund wire-transferred in excess of $750,000 from his bank account to an account controlled by Peled, as payment to Peled, Brockway, and Carey for the kidnapping and murder of the couple.
The indictment released this week also alleges that after being arrested, Peled told Maund that one of the co-conspirators involved in the kidnapping and murders wanted more money for the murders. Maund allegedly agreed to pay the co-conspirator an additional $25,000 and then offered Peled $50,000 to arrange to pay Brockway $100,000 to kill the co-conspirator, so they couldn't ask for more money for the original murders.