Erik Charles Maund indicted in murder-for-hire of Nashville couple

AUSTIN — A partner in the well-known Maund Automotive Group is accused of paying to have a Nashville woman and her boyfriend kidnapped and killed, according to an indictment.

Austin resident Erik Charles Maund, 46, was charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, and carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Two other Austinites, Gilad Peled, 47, and Bryon Brockway, 46, also received the same charges.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the events began back in February 2020, when Maund reached out to former girlfriend Holly Williams, 33, about seeing each other during his upcoming trip to Nashville.

But in March, the department says, Maund received messages from William Lanway, 36, who claimed to be in a relationship with Williams. Lanway reportedly demanded money from Maund and said he’d expose Maund’s relationship with Williams if he didn’t send it. According to an indictment, Maund was married.

As a result, Maund is accused in a federal indictment of hiring Peled and Brockway, in addition to North Carolina resident Adam Carey, 30, to help him deal with the threats and demands. Peled is a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces and owns the Austin-based Speartip Security services business. The DOJ says the business advertised it helped clients respond to extortion demands.

The department says Maund withdrew $15,000 from his account on the same day an “intelligence report” was prepared and given to Peled. Next, the department says Carey and Brockway traveled to Nashville to watch Williams and Lanway.

After surveilling the couple, Carey and Brockway learned where the couple lived and what they drove, court documents said. On March 9, the DOJ says Peled received a document detailing this and promising they’d do whatever they could to stop the extortion.

The indictment says Maund transferred around $750,000 via wire from his bank account to an account controlled by Peled — as payment for the kidnapping and murder of Williams and Lanway.

According to the arrest affidavit, Brockway and Carey murdered Lanway and Williams with several gun shots to the head before disposing of them at a construction site.

On Friday, FBI agents and Nashville police orchestrated arrests for all four men involved. Maund was arrested during a traffic stop near Austin. Meanwhile, Peled was arrested at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Brockway in San Diego. Carey was arrested at his home in North Carolina.

Maund is a partner of the Maund Automotive Group, according to the indictment. Maund’s family runs that group, according to its website, which includes Toyota and Volkswagen dealerships in Austin. Brockway is a former active duty U.S. Marine. He was the owner of a security company known as Ink Force LLC. Carey is also a former Marine and has experience as an independent contractor for security companies. Officials said Peled “held himself as a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces.”

If convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison.

Maund is being transferred to Nashville after waiving his rights in Texas at a detention hearing. Maund is requesting “that any preliminary or detention hearing be held in the prosecuting district, at a time set by that court,” according to court documents.

A new date for Maund’s detention hearing has yet to be set by the U.S. District Court in Nashville.