FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man thought a Leap Day meeting in Plantation was with an assassin, but, unbeknownst to him, it was with an undercover federal agent, whom he would eventually pay $2,500 to kill a business rival, according to court documents released Thursday.
U.S. Marshals arrested the suspect, Makram Khashman, on a federal murder-for-hire charge on Tuesday and booked him into the Broward County Jail. He made his initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court Wednesday morning.
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The alleged plot
According to a federal criminal complaint, Khashman approached a confidential informant with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to find out if he would carry out a murder in exchange for money.
The informant declined but told the 58-year-old that he “knew someone who may be able to assist,” authorities said.
That someone was an undercover ATF agent posing as a hitman, court documents state.
On Feb. 29, prosecutors said Khashman arranged a meeting with the agent in the area of 120 S. Pine Island Road in Plantation.
Court documents state Khashman, wearing a “Garden Fresh Produce LLC” polo shirt, got into the agent’s vehicle, shook hands with the agent and began talking.
The agent, who was wearing a wire, told Khashman that he heard he “had a problem,” authorities allege.
Khasman replied that “it was a big problem,” the documents state.
“(He) explained that he was in the streets with his family, that (the victim) had taken over a million dollars and a business worth three million dollars from (him),” an ATF agent wrote in the complaint.
The agent said Khashman told the supposed hitman to do “whatever had to be done” and when asked for clarification, Khashman “stated he wanted something easy, like an injection.”
Authorities said the undercover agent asked if he wanted the victim “gone,” to which Khashman affirmed and said he “didn’t give a f---.”
Court documents state the agent told Khashman “once he was committed there was no going back,” to which he replied “no problem,” and that the agent would “bring guys down from New York and would need a few days to put eyes on the victim before completing the job,” quoting him a price range of $5,000 and $10,000 for the killing, depending on the difficulty of the job.
Khashman wanted it done for $5,000, saying “he had already talked to other people who would do it for that price,” authorities said.
“The UCA (undercover agent) agreed and informed KHASHMAN that he would need a photograph, name, address, daily routine, and any additional information related to the Victim-1,” the ATF agent wrote in the complaint. “KHASHMAN affirmed and emphasized that the Victim-1 had a lot of money on Saturdays because the employees were paid in cash, but the UCA could keep the money.”
Khashman, after being asked how long it would take to get information, told the agent that the victim “had moved and he would need to send someone else to get the address” but said the victim had a “big warehouse” in Parkland, authorities said.
The complaint states that the pair agreed to exchange numbers and meet again the following week, where Khashman would bring the requested information — and a $2,500 down payment.
“The UCA told KHASHMAN that he would know KHASHMAN was serious upon bringing the money the following week,” the complaint states. “When asked if he cared how the crime was committed, KHASHMAN replied ‘I don’t give a f---.’ The UCA assured KHASHMAN that once the money and information were received the job would be completed within the week.”
Authorities said the pair met at the same place in Plantation on March 19.
The complaint said Khashman, wearing the same shirt as before, gave the agent the victim’s name and background information to aid in the job.
“KHASHMAN told the UCA that Victim-1 would have a large amount of cash on Saturday to pay employees and would be traveling from his residence directly to the business,” the complaint states.
Authorities said Khashman told the agent that he could wait by the Parkland warehouse “describing the area as quiet and unpopulated.”
“The UCA told KHASHMAN that other guys would fly down the following day, and to avoid involving other parties or providing details of the situation,” the complaint states. “KHASHMAN agreed and explained essentially that he took the money to pay for the hit slowly over time to avoid detection.”
The agent, again wearing a wire, told Khashman that once he gave him the money, “there was no going back,” at which point Khashman placed $2,500 in cash on the agent’s center console, prosecutors said.
After the agent told Khashman that he “wanted to be clear” that Khashman “wanted the victim dead,” he gave the purported assassin a succinct reply.
“No s---,” Khashman said, according to the complaint.
He said that the victim “ruined his life and that he was willing to ‘do it myself’ and ‘didn’t give a f---,’” it states.
The pair, authorities said, discussed a final meeting where Khashman would pay the other $2,500 after being provided with “photographic proof of the crime.”
They would then part ways and Khashman would be arrested a week later.
Ongoing civil case
As of Thursday, Khashman was involved in an open case in Palm Beach County civil court in which he and a group of apparent relatives are being sued for defamation by a company called All Fresh Florida Produce, LLC and two people associated with that business. It claims that the defendants disparaged the business to its clients, who they tried to get to break ties with the company.
Khashman and the co-defendants were involved in the company at one point and he was the “mentor” and uncle to one of the plaintiffs and was given a 50% stake in the company, a counterclaim states.
Khashman claimed that one of the plaintiffs disparaged him and “engaged in business transactions” to “spite” Khashman and “to curry favor with vendors who used to deal directly with” him.
Khashman’s nephew “essentially ousted” him from the company, the counterclaim states.
Authorities don’t specify in the federal criminal court documents whether Khashman was trying to have his nephew killed.
As for that case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Panayotta Augustin‐Birch ordered he remain held until a pretrial detention hearing on April 5.
Khashman remained in the Broward Main Jail as of Thursday.