Pair Charged in Plot to Kill Judge, Prosecutor and Witness

A man and woman were indicted on charges they tried to hire a hit man to kill a federal prosecutor, a federal judge and a witness, all of whom were involved in a check fraud case against them.

Arnold Wesley Flowers and Sompong Khamsomphou were each charged with conspiracy to kill a federal officer, conspiracy to kill a witness to prevent testimony and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Flowers and Khamsomphou were in custody in state holding facilities Saturday, and corrections officials said they were unavailable for comment.

Friday’s indictment superseded an indictment returned last month that said Flowers and Khamsomphou teamed on a fraud scheme involving counterfeit bank checks.

The initial indictment said Khamsomphou obtained customer information at a Minnesota branch of Wells Fargo Bank where she worked and gave it to Flowers to turn into fake checks totaling more than $40,000, which he cashed in the Anchorage area.

The prosecutor, the presiding judge and a witness in that case were named in the latest indictment as targets in the murder-for-hire plot. A fourth person also was named as a target, but the indictment did not specify a connection.