Thursday, December 19

Tag: cartel

Mexican drug cartel operators posed as U.S. officials to target Americans in timeshare scam, Treasury Department says
2Dec By adminNo Comments
Money

Mexican drug cartel operators posed as U.S. officials to target Americans in timeshare scam, Treasury Department says

A Mexican drug cartel was so bold in operating frauds that target elderly Americans that the gang's operators posed as U.S. Treasury Department officials, U.S. authorities said Thursday.The scam was described by the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. The agency has been chasing fraudsters using call centers controlled by the Jalisco drug cartel to promote fake offers to buy Americans' timeshare properties. They have scammed at least 600 Americans out of about $40 million, officials said.But they also began contacting people claiming to be employees of OFAC itself, and offering to free up funds purportedly frozen by the U.S. agency, which combats illicit funds and money laundering. "At times, perpetrators of timeshare fraud misuse go...
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Home Sellers Take On the Realtors Cartel
23Oct By adminNo Comments
Business

Home Sellers Take On the Realtors Cartel

The 1.5 million-member National Association of Realtors spent $81.7 million on political lobbying in 2022, more than any other business group. Behind the teachers unions, it ranks as the most powerful special interest in the country. Though it claims to help consumers, it is a cartel that seeks primarily to enrich its members by expanding government control over middle-class Americans’ largest source of wealth: their homes.Consider Burnett v. NAR, a federal class-action suit that Missouri home sellers have brought against the association. The case, which went to trial last week, presents an existential threat to the cartel. If the plaintiffs prevail, home buyers and sellers could save $120 billion in fees each year. Half of the country’s real-estate agents who work as buyer brokers might ...
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