Members of the San Miguel de Allende Bar Association emphasized that the most common types of fraud in the municipality are financial and online fraud.
They asserted that this increase is due to a lack of information among the population, although unreported cases must also be considered, as they constitute a “lost statistic.”
In San Miguel de Allende, there has been an increase in fraud, specifically financial and online fraud. Although some cases are recorded in the municipality, those that are not reported by San Miguel residents are also considered.
“Fraud has indeed increased, perhaps due to a lack of information on technological issues. Although technology is very advanced now, it is also true that people easily fall for messages telling them they will be given something,” said Maritza González Tapia, president of the Bar Association.
Norma Cecilia Servín, the agrarian and state liaison within the Bar Association, emphasized that because Guanajuato is one of the states with the most unregulated ejidos, real estate fraud is also very common.
In the specific case of San Miguel de Allende, people access this type of property out of a need to acquire assets, only to be sold two or three times.
“We have heard of cases where the same property is sold to three or four people. It’s a reality that real estate fraud is on the rise in the municipality (…). People buy at a low price because today, acquiring a home in San Miguel is practically impossible for someone earning a minimum wage,” she noted.
Three traffic cases were recently dismissed for corruption.
The members of the Bar Association agreed that the increase in fraud cases should be higher, as there are still many people who do not report it. This is because they consider the legal process more tedious and costly than the benefit they may receive from recovering their resources.
“There are those who flat out say, ‘I’m giving up on it,’ because we know it’s time-consuming and emotionally draining, and often people spend more trying to recover something (…). There are people who either don’t have the money or the time, and that’s a lost statistic.
We often hear that justice is for those who can pay, but why? Because maybe they provide the service for free, but if expert evidence is needed, it costs 10 to 20 thousand pesos,” they shared.
The Bar Association in San Miguel de Allende reports an increase in fraud cases. Source: Ingrid Devesa.
Massive fraud case reported in San Miguel de Allende
The president of the Bar Association announced that there is a massive fraud case in the municipality. A woman who worked at a financial institution defrauded a group of more than 180 women by offering them loans and charging unpayable interest.
“The most serious thing here is that foreign lawyers came to assist people and summoned them to court (…) This led to lawsuits and foreclosures against those affected, stemming from loans they were given,” she stated.
The lawyer took the opportunity to urge the public to stay informed to avoid fraud and invited them to visit the Bar Association where they can receive free advice on any case.
In the event of being a victim of fraud or requesting advice from the municipal Bar Association, the telephone numbers 415 107 5198 and 415 119 0450 were available.
Source: periodicocorreo
