The US told its banks what timeshare fraud looks like from the inside
On 16 July 2024 the Treasury sanctioned three Mexican accountants and four Mexican companies over CJNG timeshare fraud, and FinCEN issued a notice — jointly with OFAC and the FBI — telling US banks how to spot the money. It records roughly 6,000 US victims and nearly $300 million lost between 2019 and 2023, and says plainly that the figure likely understates the total.
- Year
- 2024
- Where
- United States, Mexico
- Outcome
- Sanctioned
- Reported loss
- $300.0 million
- Victims
- 6,000
- Schemes
- Timeshare exit and resale scams, Advance fee and 419 scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-06
The facts, as recorded
- The Treasury announced the designations and the FinCEN notice on 16 July 2024.
- Three Mexican accountants were sanctioned: Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon, Xeyda Del Refugio Foubert Cadena and Emiliano Sanchez Martinez.
- Four Mexican companies were sanctioned: Constructora Sandgris S. de R.L. de C.V., Pacific Axis Real Estate S.A. de C.V., Realty & Maintenance BJ S.A. de C.V. and Bona Fide Consultores FS S.A.S.
- FinCEN issued a Notice jointly with OFAC and the FBI giving financial institutions an overview of timeshare fraud schemes in Mexico associated with CJNG and other Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations.
- Approximately 6,000 US victims reported losing nearly $300 million between 2019 and 2023 to timeshare fraud schemes in Mexico.
- The Treasury states that this figure likely underestimates total losses.
- The schemes are described as complex and often yearslong telemarketing, impersonation and advance fee schemes, including timeshare exit, re-rent and investment scams.
- The notice sets out methodologies, financial typologies and red flag indicators to help banks identify and report suspicious activity.
- One of the sanctioned accountants, Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon, was later indicted in the Eastern District of New York in September 2025.
Why this case matters
Almost every case on this site is enforcement against people. This one is instruction to institutions.
FinCEN, OFAC and the FBI jointly told American banks what timeshare fraud money looks like moving through their systems — the methodologies, the financial typologies, and the red flag indicators.
That is a different kind of intervention, and it is aimed at the only party in the chain who can see the pattern. A victim sees one wire. A bank sees a series of wires from an older customer to Mexican accounts over months, which is a shape.
Who was sanctioned, and why it is interesting
Three accountants. Not callers, not enforcers, not resort owners.
That is the tell about what the Treasury thought the pressure point was. A telemarketing fraud generating hundreds of millions of dollars needs someone to move it into companies, property and accounts — and four Mexican companies were designated alongside them, including construction and real estate entities.
One of the three, Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon, was indicted in the Eastern District of New York fourteen months later, on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges.
The number, and its honesty
Approximately 6,000 US victims, nearly $300 million, 2019 to 2023. And the Treasury says the figure likely underestimates total losses.
That sentence is worth noting because agencies rarely include it. It is the same under-reporting caveat this site applies to every figure it publishes, stated by the government about its own number.
The later DOJ figure — approximately $350 million across 2019 to 2024 — adds one year and $50 million, consistent with the roughly $50 million reported in 2024 alone.
“Complex and often yearslong”
The Treasury’s own phrasing is the most useful description of this scheme anywhere.
Not a call and a payment. A relationship maintained over years, through timeshare exit offers, re-rent offers and investment offers in sequence, with the same victim approached repeatedly by an operation that already has their details.
Which is why the loss per reported victim here — around $50,000 — is so far above the median for consumer fraud. It is not one decision. It is many, made over a long period, by someone who each time believed they were recovering what they had already put in.
Sources
- Treasury Sanctions Cartel Accountants, Announces Joint Notice on Timeshare Fraud in Mexico. US Department of the Treasury. Accessed 2026-09-06. Supports: The 16 July 2024 designations, the three accountants and four companies, the FinCEN joint notice with OFAC and the FBI, the 6,000 victims and nearly $300m for 2019–2023, the underestimate caveat, the scheme description and the red flag indicators.
- Senior CJNG Member Indicted on Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and Terrorism Charges for Operating Massive Timeshare Fraud Scheme. US Department of Justice. Accessed 2026-09-06. Supports: The September 2025 indictment of Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon, and the updated 2019–2024 figure of approximately $350m.
- Treasury Targets Cartel-Linked Timeshare Resort Defrauding U.S. Citizens. US Department of the Treasury. Accessed 2026-09-06. Supports: The February 2026 sanctions continuing the same enforcement line.