On April 27, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order 14059, against seven individuals and 19 Mexican companies connected to timeshare fraud on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The CJNG—a Mexico-based organization responsible for trafficking a significant proportion of illicit fentanyl and other drugs that enter the U.S.—is also designated under E.O. 14059. OFAC explained that timeshare fraud often targets older U.S. citizens to scam victims of their life savings and is an important revenue stream for the group’s criminal enterprise. The designations build on sanctions imposed on several other companies in April (covered by InfoBytes here) and continue OFAC’s efforts to disrupt CJNG’s timeshare fraud network.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons located in the U.S. or held by U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Further, “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.” U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any dealings involving the property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons unless authorized by an OFAC-issued general or specific license, or exempt. OFAC further warned that “U.S. persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violations of E.O. 14059 and the Kingpin Act.”