A woman in Mérida has been arrested by police on real estate fraud charges.
Authorities report that the woman identified only as “Citlali N” fraudulently sold a property to two separate individuals in 2014.
One of the two alleged victims presented her case to the attorney general’s office, which pursued the case with support from police investigators. The suspect was located in Mérida where she was arrested and sent to Santa Martha Acatitla prison, located in the State of México.
Mexico’s institute for worker’s housing, INFONAVIT, has warned of a spike in real estate fraud across the country. To this end they have created a toll-free phone number, 800-008-3900, to answer questions.
“Real estate fraud is on the rise, and the pandemic is likely to make the situation worse as so much sensitive information is being sent digitally over insecure networks,” said Javier Romero, CEO of real estate platform Hausy.mx.
Mexico’s Association of Real Estate Professionals claims that verifiable losses stemming from real estate fraud in México reach 600 million pesos annually.
According to Yucatán Ahora, 400 families in Yucatán fell victim to a massive real estate scam in 2019. The affected parties are said to have collectively lost approximately 40 million pesos.
“These people are victims of fraud, some of them took out loans to come up with the money and now are stuck with the interests and no home,” said victims’ advocate, María Patricia Couoh Baas.
