Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Bessent credited President Donald Trump's policies for a slowdown in US inflation, and said he had challenged a "decades-old status quo" on trade. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The three senior CJNG members most involved in timeshare fraud sanctioned Wednesday are Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (Montero), Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (Rivera), and Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (Gudino).
Additionally, Puerto Vallarta native Michael Ibarra Diaz Jr. (Ibarra) was sanctioned. Treasury says Ibarra is "engaged in timeshare fraud on behalf of CJNG."
The companies sanctioned are Akali Realtors, Centro Mediador De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Integral De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Costa Norte, S.A. de C.V., and Sunmex Travel, S. de R.L. De C.V. They "explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry."
Another company involved in timeshare-related transactions that was sanctioned is TTR Go, S.A. de C.V. They claim only to be a travel agency.
Three additional companies were sanctioned for their alleged real estate activities: Inmobiliaria Integral Del Puerto, S.A. de C.V., KVY Bucerias, S.A. de C.V., and Servicios Inmobiliarios Ibadi, S.A. de C.V.
"This diverse corporate network also includes tour operators (Fishing Are Us, S. De R.L. de C.V.; Santamaria Cruise, S. de R.L. de C.V.), an automotive service company (Laminado Profesional Automotriz Elte, S.A. de C.V.), and an accounting firm (Consultorias Profesionales Almida, S.A. de C.V.).
Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Officials said the cartel is increasingly supplementing its drug trafficking proceeds with alternative revenue streams like timeshare fraud and fuel theft.
Illustration of a timeshare property (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)
Officials explained that the fraud may include timeshare exit scams, or resale scams, timeshare re-rent scams, and timeshare investment scams.
"The common theme is that victims are asked to pay advance ‘fees’ and ‘taxes’ before receiving money supposedly owed to them," officials warned. "This money never comes, and the victims are continuously told to send these ‘fees’ and ‘taxes’ via international wire transfers to accounts held at Mexican banks and brokerage houses."
TIMESHARE TERROR LEAVES RETIRED COUPLE $50K IN THE HOLE AFTER BEING SCAMMED
After initial scams, officials warn that "re-victimization scams can occur."
In July 2024, Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the FBI issued a joint-notice on the timeshare fraud associated with Mexico-based cartels and criminal organizations.
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In the six month period following that notice, FinCEN received more than 250 Suspicious Activity Reports, and filers reported approximately 1,300 transactions totaling $23.1 million, sent primarily from U.S. based individuals to counterparties in Mexico.
Based on FinCEN’s analysis, U.S. fraud victims sent an average of $28,912 and a median amount of $10,000 per transaction to the suspected scammers since July 2024.
The FBI says approximately 6,000 U.S. victims reported losing nearly $300 million between 2019 and 2023 to timeshare fraud schemes in Mexico. But officials said that figure "likely underestimates total losses, as the FBI believes the vast majority of victims not report the scam due to embarrassment, among other reasons."
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/treasury-sanctions-brutally-violent-cartel-timeshare-fraud-tourist-destination-warns-americans