PHILADELPHIA, PA — A North Carolina man pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges tied to a plot to pay for the killings of two people in the Philadelphia area, prosecutors said.
Xin Guang Guo, 48, of Plymouth, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III to two counts of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Authorities said the case stems from a plan in which Guo sought to pay $30,000 to have his former business partner and the partner’s romantic associate killed.
According to court filings, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received information on September 30, 2025, that Guo was attempting to hire someone to carry out the killings.
Investigators reviewed text messages attributed to Guo outlining the alleged plan and identifying the intended targets, referred to in court documents as Person-1 and Person-2.
In recorded phone calls monitored by agents, Guo discussed paying $15,000 for each killing and arranged to meet an individual he believed to be a hitman in Philadelphia on October 6, authorities said.
At that meeting, prosecutors said, Guo provided $2,500 to an undercover ATF agent to purchase a firearm and requested photographic proof of the victims’ deaths before paying the remaining balance.
Guo was arrested without incident shortly after leaving the meeting, authorities said.
He had been taken into custody in October 2025 on a criminal complaint and was later charged by indictment that same month.
Guo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McCool.
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