Moneyflip CEO Marcos Arturo Kleiman Tronllan faces federal murder-for-hire charges after allegedly paying $40,000 to undercover agents to kidnap and kill a Mexican businessman over unpaid debt. According to reports from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Kleiman, 40, in Miami on July 30 in connection with the federal complaint filed in San Diego. As reported by 10News, Kleiman is expected to be extradited to San Diego for federal proceedings.
Undercover HSI agents approached Kleiman in February and asked him to convert U.S. dollars into cryptocurrency, allegedly telling him the money came from drug sales. As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Kleiman created an email account and shared its password with the agents, communicating through unsent draft emails. He allegedly converted approximately $750,000 into cryptocurrency and arranged for transfer to an undercover agent's wallet, charging a 10% fee. During these discussions, Kleiman allegedly asked whether agents could recover a debt from the Mexican businessman and kill him. According to 10News, when investigators allegedly presented Kleiman with photographs and videos purporting to depict the Mexican businessman being tortured and killed, he allegedly replied, 'Okay. Count on...count on it.'
Kleiman allegedly arranged for a third party to deliver the first $5,000 deposit to an undercover agent in San Diego in May, according to prosecutors. He later paid another $5,000 deposit after an agent requested money to reserve purported killers. On July 28, undercover agents showed Kleiman three photographs and a video falsely depicting the businessman as captured, tortured and killed, with no actual murder occurring. On July 29, Kleiman allegedly delivered another $5,000 in cash and transferred approximately 25,000 USDT to an undercover cryptocurrency wallet. 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.
Moneyflip is a registered money services business offering cross-border currency exchange services, with Kleiman previously operating the company as MXN Financial LLC before it changed its name to Moneyflip LLC in 2025. According to 10News, the company describes itself as a business-to-business financial-services company focused on foreign-currency exchange, cross-border payments and related services, listing Los Angeles as its contact location. The alleged murder plot surfaced during a broader federal investigation into whether Kleiman used his business to launder drug proceeds. Investigators began examining Kleiman while investigating currency exchange businesses in San Diego and Imperial counties, suspecting he used cross-border transactions to avoid Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements and launder proceeds from drug sales. The complaint contains allegations rather than proven facts, with Kleiman presumed innocent unless convicted.
