MOSCOW, (AFP) — A Russian businessman who didn’t want to split his wealth with his wife ended up paying a higher price after being taken for a ride by five fake hit-men and being arrested by police.

A Moscow court confirmed Friday that Konstantin Monastyrsky, 47, was sentenced to eight and a half years for attempting to have his wife killed.

According to the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets, Monastyrsky said his wife was an alcoholic, but that he didn’t want to divorce her as she would get half of his property.

Instead Monastyrsky decided to have her bumped off, and found a man who presented himself as a hired hit-man and took an advance of 200,000 rubles (US$5,550) to do the job.

But when nothing happened Monastyrsky pressured the supposed hit-man, who turned out to be an alcoholic who had drank the advance.

The fraudster turned to the police, who in turn contacted the wife and staged a fake assassination scene.

The fake hit-man sent a picture of his supposed victim to Monastyrsky, who was arrested by police when paying off the remaining 500,000 rubles for the job.

Monastyrsky told police it was already his fifth attempt to have his wife assassinated, but each time he was taken for between 100,000 and 500,000 rubles.

“Everywhere I am being ripped off, even here!” Monastyrsky said upon his arrest, according to the newspaper.

The wife ended with control of all of her husband’s property, it added.