US doctor pleads guilty to federal charges tied to dark web, kidnapping plot

Prosecutors had originally charged Ilg with attempted kidnapping after the FBI recovered messages from the so-called dark web, websites that require specific software to access. — Photo by Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash

The ill-fated plan by a Spokane neonatal doctor to use the dark web to hire someone to kidnap his estranged wife and force her to reconcile, as well as injure a colleague, will now likely result in a federal prison sentence of at least five years.

Ronald Ilg, 55, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two federal charges of making threats in interstate commerce. The admission draws nearer to a close an investigation that began with international journalists tipping off local authorities that Ilg was bartering with cryptocurrency to have someone abduct his estranged wife, inject her with heroin and convince her to return to the marriage on conditions.