One of Mexico’s most violent cartels operates a series of call centers targeting U.S. citizens to swindle them out of millions of dollars. This scam shows that criminal organizations continue to diversify, moving toward more traditional schemes such as extortion and fraud. In at least one case, the scam was linked to the murder of an American from Arizona.
U.S. authorities estimate that Americans were defrauded of nearly $300 million over five years. The scam utilizes a call center set up by the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation, and involves individuals who own timeshares having their employees call and offer to buy the timeshare, tricking victims into paying endless fees. The idea is to make them pay.
a report by new york times points to FBI statistics that claim American victims have transferred as much as $288 million to cartel scammers over five years. But this type of crime usually goes unpunished because the FBI relies on Mexican authorities to track down fraudsters within Mexico.
In June 2023, CJNG gunmen kidnapped and murdered Carlos David Valladolid Hernandez along with several other victims. Breitbart Texas reported that Valladolid is a U.S. citizen who was born in Arizona and moved to Jalisco. Before the murders, Valladolid and the other victims began working at a timeshare call center run by CJNG. For unknown reasons, gunmen kidnapped a group of workers, dismembered them, and dumped their bodies in several locations around Zapopan and Guadalajara. Most of the killings carried out by his CJNG in Jalisco remain unsolved.
Telephone scams are common in Mexico, where authorities rarely investigate or prosecute. The techniques used in these scams vary, but the ultimate goal is to trick the victim into making a wire transfer or deposit.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart’s senior management team.you can follow him twitter And even more Facebook. He can be contacted at: iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart Texas Cartel His Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart’s senior management team.please follow him twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at: bdarby@breitbart.com.
