With annual turnover of nearly $100 billion, the vacation timeshare business has drawn its share of rogue operators. This week Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced initiatives to police the industry.
In a coordinated action with the Government of Mexico, OFAC sanctioned eight Mexican companies linked to timeshare fraud on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). CJNG is a violent Mexico-based organization that traffics a significant proportion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States.
“In tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, CJNG has become heavily engaged in timeshare fraud, which often targets U.S. citizens. This crime, which can defraud victims of their life savings, results in another significant revenue stream for the cartel and strengthens its overall criminal enterprise,” said OFAC Director Andrea Gacki.
Puerto Vallarta is a CJNG strategic stronghold for drug trafficking and various other illicit activities. OFAC has taken multiple actions against CJNG actors in Puerto Vallarta, including those who have ties to nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. Additionally, OFAC has designated senior CJNG members Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (a.k.a. “La Firma”), Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (a.k.a. “La Gallina”), and Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (a.k.a. “El Tarjetas”), who are part of a CJNG enforcement group based in Puerto Vallarta that orchestrates assassinations of rivals and politicians using high-powered weaponry.
(OFAC) has published an Alert "Notice of Fraudulent Communications Requesting Payments involving OFAC" to make the public aware of telephone, email, and letter scams involving individuals falsely claiming to represent OFAC and requesting payments.
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