Mexican Drug Cartel’s Scammed $40 Million Targeting The Elderly Posing As This...

The cartel's operators went as far as impersonating officials from the U.S. Treasury Department, according to U.S. authorities on Thursday.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a department within the U.S. Treasury, has been tracking these fraudulent activities. The Jalisco drug cartel, notorious for its criminal activities, has been operating call centers to propagate counterfeit offers for the purchase of timeshare properties owned by Americans. The scam has reportedly defrauded at least 600 Americans, amounting to a loss of approximately $40 million.

In a further twist, the cartel began reaching out to individuals, posing as OFAC employees. They offered to release funds allegedly frozen by the U.S. agency, which is tasked with combating illicit funds and money laundering.

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December 01, 2023

"Perpetrators of timeshare fraud often misuse government agency names in attempts to appear legitimate," the agency stated. "They may call victims and claim to represent OFAC, demanding a payment in exchange for the release of funds that the perpetrator claims OFAC has blocked."

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The scam is believed to be centered in Puerto Vallarta, located in Jalisco state. The FBI issued an alert in March, stating that sellers were contacted via email by fraudsters who claimed to have a buyer ready, but required the seller to pay taxes or other fees before the transaction could proceed.

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"The sales representatives often use high-pressure sales tactics to add a sense of urgency to the deal," the FBI reported. Once the money was paid, the deals would disappear.

On Thursday, OFAC announced a new round of sanctions against three Mexican citizens and 13 companies linked to the Jalisco cartel, also known as CJNG. The cartel has been known to resort to violence, even killing call center workers who attempted to leave.

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"CJNG uses extreme violence and intimidation to control the timeshare network, which often targets elder U.S. citizens and can defraud victims of their life savings," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen stated.

The Jalisco cartel is infamous for producing and smuggling millions of doses of lethal fentanyl into the United States, disguised as Xanax, Percocet, or oxycodone. These pills are responsible for approximately 70,000 overdose deaths annually in the United States.

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"Treasury remains committed to the Administration's whole-of-government effort, in coordination with our partners in Mexico, to disrupt CJNG's revenue sources and ability to traffic deadly drugs like fentanyl," Yellen affirmed.

In June, U.S. and Mexican officials confirmed the deaths of up to eight young workers who had attempted to quit jobs at a call center operated by the Jalisco cartel. Unbeknownst to the victims' families, the call center was run by Jalisco, Mexico's most violent gang.

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The Department of Justice has labeled the Jalisco cartel as "one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world." The cartel's leader, Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," is a high-priority target for both Mexican and U.S. authorities.