A former San Diego resident who runs a currency-exchange company was arrested in Miami after federal agents say he agreed to pay $40,000 to kidnap and kill a Mexican businessman over a claimed debt. Marcos Arturo Kleiman Tronllan, 40, is expected to be extradited to San Diego, where he will face federal charges.
The alleged murder plot surfaced during a broader federal investigation into whether Kleiman used his business to launder drug proceeds. According to 10News, undercover Homeland Security Investigations agents contacted him in February and asked him to convert money into cryptocurrency while suggesting it came from drug sales. Prosecutors say he converted about $750,000 before the investigation turned toward the alleged killing scheme.
MoneyFlip, formerly known as MXN Financial LLC, describes itself as a business-to-business financial-services company focused on foreign-currency exchange, cross-border payments and related services, according to MoneyFlip’s website. The company lists Los Angeles as its contact location and markets services designed to move money across borders.
Then, investigators allegedly presented Kleiman with a gruesome proposition. Agents showed him photographs and videos purporting to depict the Mexican businessman being tortured and killed, then demanded payment; Kleiman allegedly agreed to pay $40,000 to have the man kidnapped and killed and to recover money he claimed the businessman owed, 10News reported. When asked to follow through, he allegedly replied, “Okay. Count on...count on it.”
A San Diego Federal Case With A Familiar Pattern
San Diego has seen a similar federal murder-for-hire case in which an alleged financial scheme escalated into a plot against potential witnesses. In 2013, former IRS agent-turned-tax preparer Steven Martinez was sentenced to nearly 24 years after pleading guilty to plotting to kill four people, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said FBI intervention prevented the violence.
Extradition And Federal Penalties
Kleiman was arrested Thursday morning in Miami and is expected to be brought back to San Diego for federal proceedings. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1958, using interstate commerce to arrange a killing for payment can carry up to 10 years in prison when no injury results, with higher penalties if someone is injured or killed. The allegations are not a conviction, and Kleiman is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case in court.
