How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico. Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels. Guest: Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, James?
0:03.0	Hello?
0:04.0	Hey, how's it going?
0:07.0	Yeah.
0:08.0	I'm not having much luck.
0:11.0	So, the problem is funding and all of my money is in Mexico, all of it.
0:26.0	From the New York Times, I'm Katron Benhold.
0:29.0	This is the Daily.
0:31.0	A massive scam targeting elderly Americans who own time share properties has resulted
0:37.0	in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico.
0:41.1	Once you move forward and make your payment if anything were to happen he will
0:45.1	draft be pay you the full amount of what you're entitled to including the
0:49.9	games he will pay you the full amount. You've got all my money.
0:54.0	It's been spent.
0:55.0	I sold the freaking house.
0:57.0	Listen to this, I sold a house that I grew up in so that I could come up with funds to send to Mexico.
1:10.0	I don't even have anything from the sale. Nothing.
1:17.0	My colleague Maria Abbeep, on one victim who lost everything and the people on the other side of the phone.
1:27.0	That's it. That's it.
1:30.0	You know what? That's what has been said every freaking time.
1:35.3	Every time, just pay this, that releases the funds.
1:38.7	That's why we won't allow it to happen again.
	...

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