US announces imposing sanctions on entities related to Mexican cartel for timeshare fraud
Date
7/17/2024 4:07:15 AM
(MENAFN) The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it has imposed sanctions on several entities associated with a Mexican cartel involved in timeshare fraud schemes targeting American citizens. The sanctions affect three Mexican accountants and four Mexican companies that are directly or indirectly linked to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).
According to the Treasury Department, these transnational criminal organizations operate call centers in Mexico, where scammers pose as U.S.-based timeshare brokers, attorneys, or sales representatives. Their fraudulent activities involve complex telemarketing, impersonation, and various fee schemes, including timeshare exit, rerent, and investment scams. These operations specifically aim to defraud American timeshare owners in Mexico.
Victims often send payments through wire transfers to Mexican shell companies, which are set up to facilitate these scams. The funds are then laundered in Mexico via additional shell companies controlled by cartel members, their families, or third-party money launderers. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson emphasized the sophistication of these fraudulent operations, stating, "Cartel fraudsters run sophisticated teams of professionals who seem perfectly normal on paper or on the phone – but in reality, they’re money launderers expertly trained in scamming U.S. citizens."
He cautioned that unsolicited calls and emails may appear legitimate but are often orchestrated by cartel-supported criminals. "If something seems too good to be true, it probably is," Nelson warned. He assured that the Treasury and its partners are utilizing all available resources to combat these nefarious activities, which are often linked to funding for drug trafficking and human smuggling.
In a broader effort to address this issue, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has already imposed sanctions on 50 individuals and entities connected to CJNG’s timeshare fraud activities in 2023 alone. These actions reflect a commitment to disrupt the financial networks supporting these criminal enterprises and protect U.S. citizens from fraud.
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