An Illinois man has been charged in federal court with initiating a murder-for-hire plot against a man in Florida.

Ben Patrick Mullavey, 64, of Mechanicsburg in Sangamon County, faces a single felony count of using interstate commerce to hire someone else to murder a business associate.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in the U. S. Court for the Eastern District of Missouri accuses Mullavey of offering up to $10,000 for the murder of the Florida man. Mullavey claimed the man owed him $200,000 and a lawsuit filed to recover the alleged debt was not going well, the charging documents say.

According to an affidavit with investigators, Mullavey met with a man in Sikeston, Missouri, to discuss the murder and supply him with identifying information for his business partner. They also discussed obtaining a Florida license plate to help the hitman blend in, acquiring a crossbow and arrows, expense money and a $1,000 “prepayment, according to court records.

On Jan. 3, the man shared details of Mullavey’s plans with the FBI.

The murder-for-hire charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.