FinCEN, OFAC, and FBI Joint Notice on Timeshare Fraud Associated with Mexico-Based Transnational Criminal Organizations

FIN-2024-NTC2 July 16, 2024
FinCEN, OFAC, and FBI Joint Notice on Timeshare Fraud Associated with Mexico-Based Transnational Criminal Organizations The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing this joint Notice with Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to financial institutions,1 urging them to be vigilant in detecting, identifying, and reporting timeshare2 fraud perpetrated by Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).3 According to the FBI, since at least 2012, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)4 and other Mexico-based TCOs have increasingly targeted U.S. owners of timeshare properties in Mexico.5 Older adults,6 including retirees, are frequent victims in these schemes. The TCOs use proceeds from timeshare fraud to diversify their revenue streams and finance other criminal activities, including the manufacturing and trafficking of illicit fentanyl and other deadly synthetic drugs into the United States.7

1. See 31 U.S.C. § 5312(a)(2); 31 CFR § 1010.100(t).
2. According to the American Resort Development Association, a trade association for the timeshare industry,
   timesharing “describes a method of use and/or shared ownership of vacation real estate where purchasers acquire a period of time (often a week) in a condominium, apartment or other type of vacation accommodation.” See generally American Resort Development Association, Timeshare Terminology.
3. This joint Notice focuses on how TCOs are targeting U.S. owners of timeshares in Mexico. However, FinCEN is also
   aware of timeshare fraud schemes that defraud U.S. owners of timeshares in the United States. See generally Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Timeshares, Vacation Clubs, and Related Scams” (Dec. 2023).
4. CJNG is a Mexico-based TCO and drug trafficking organization based in the Mexican state of Jalisco with strongholds
   in many cities and towns associated with Mexico’s tourism industry, such as Puerto Vallarta. According to U.S. law enforcement, CJNG is one of the predominant Mexico-based TCOs perpetrating timeshare fraud schemes. CJNG is also one of the TCOs that is primarily responsible for trafficking the majority of illicit fentanyl into the United States. Countering the CJNG and other Mexico-based TCOs is a top priority of the U.S. Government. See U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “2024 National Drug Threat Assessment” (May 2024), at pp. 12-15.
5. See generally FBI, “Mexican Cartels Target Americans in Timeshare Fraud Scams, FBI Warns” (June 7, 2024); FBI,
   Timeshare Fraud; FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), “Scammers Targeting Owners of Timeshares in Mexico” (Mar. 2, 2023).
6. For purposes of this joint Notice and to be consistent with the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act, an older
   adult is considered an individual 60 years of age or older. See Pub. L. No. 115-70, 131 Stat. 1208 (2017).
7. See generally supra note 5.
   Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)
   Filing Request:
   FinCEN requests that financial institutions reference this joint Notice by including the key term “FIN-2024-NTC2” in SAR field 2 (Filing Institution Note to FinCEN) and the narrative and select SAR field 34(z) (Fraud – Other) and include the term “TimeshareMX” in the text box.