Island Resorts and Villas Owners! Please read!

[jenndow Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jenndow]

We bought a 3 bdrm/4bath unit in 2006 at Isla Mazatlan for Januarys beginning 2010, but specifically unit 58. Problem is, last look showed that unit still unfinished (Jan 2008) and not even owned by the same group we bought it from. (They told us in 2008 that they had the option to buy it and would have it by the time we were ready to use it.)

Apparently these units have since been purchased by Crown Bay Residences but I can't get anyone to reply to my emails. We're still making payments with no guarantee they're even being honored!

The other name I have for these is Marinas y Villas Coral.

I'd be willing to coordinate an owner's newsletter if there are others in the same fix. Respond to private email or here is ok.

Jennifer and Dan
Jenndow@live.com

[Kentonmag Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kentonmag]

I would hate to be the bringer of bad news but I picked out the following stuff online, it's very long winded but if you read the 11th paragragh it makes a reference to Crown Bay (I hope for your sake its not the same Company)?

The site url is

Mazatlan Fraud -- Grand Bay Marina & Residences...same Fraud on La Isla!...Manuel Cristerna: Letter from a Mazatleco (a Native of Mazatlan)


THIS LETTER WAS POSTED IN SPANISH ALREADY, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO NOT READ SPANISH TO READ THIS ABOUT MANUEL CRISTERNA.

I have visited your web site where I see you have been complaining painfully about the fraud commited on you and your Partners by the crook, José Manuel Cristerna. I’m giving you this information because it might be helpful to your cause.

As you might understand, I can not give you my name because I’m related to the real estate business and fear that this crook and some other ones that I will also mention here might take reprisals against me.

First, I must say that the attorney that is handling the law suit against Cristerna made mistakes like he was just a beginner because he did not integrate the law suit correctly against this crook. If your attorney would have prepared the lawsuit correctly, this crook, Sr. Cristerna, would still be in jail, since the fraud in the current Criminal Law in Sinaloa and Mexico says that Fraud is a felony offense and that it should not allow the crook to get out of jail, even after paying bail and much less obtaining an appeal from the Federal Courts. The appeal obtained by this crook Cristerna was because of the mistakes made on the lawsuit prepared by your attorney.

This crook Cristerna came to Mazatlan from Oaxaca where he started working in the 90’s as a OPC for several developers of time share, mainly for Lic. Guerrero, owner of the Cerritos Resort.

In the year of 2005, when Marina Mazatlán was bought by Lic. Ernesto Echavarria Salazar, he sold a portion of a land known as La Isla de Marina Mazatlán to Mr. Barrenechea and Mr. Pluma. This crook Cristerna offered his services as an OPC to start selling time share at La Isla and at the same time Cristerna was working for this other crook named Luís Medina, owner of Marina del Rey and later, owner of Hotel Playa Maria, and in 2007 he sold this Hotel to Sergio de la Peña.
De la Peña had the intention to use this property as a Beach Club for the owners of the villas and homes on La Isla. This was never completed because Luis Medina sold to de la Peña the building without furniture and without any timeshare clients. This really hurt Sergio de la Peña.

Mr. Barrenechea and Mr. Pluma sold part of their villas to Sergio de la Peña and Cristerna became a partner to continue selling time share on the North side of La Isla. Sergio de la Peña built the lighthouse where he had the administration offices, restaurant and sales office.

Until today, I don’t know how Cristerna persuaded Sergio de la Peña in 2006 to build homes and sell them as fractional ownership and full time ownership on the north part of La Isla. This is when the real estate frauds really began, in addition to the fraud already being committed in the villas owned by Sergio de la Peña.

Before this, the crook Cristerna had already committed fraud against Lic. Guerrero owner of Cerritos Resort and against Luís Medina ex-owner of Marina del Rey and Playa Maria and some other people. Furthermore, he did not pay commissions to his OPC workers, nor the sales people who were selling timeshare, fractional and full time ownership.

It is very important to mention that the Marina Mazatlán development company, Desarrollo Marina Mazatlán including its Director General Lic. Echavarria, have nothing to do with Sergio de la Peña and neither with the crook Cristerna.

The crook Cristerna in the begining of 2008 secretly bought from Sergio de la Peña all of his properties on La Isla including Hotel Playa Maria for the amount of 51 millions pesos (approximately $5 million USD).

At first nobody knew how Cristerna get this large amount of money. However, in those days Cristerna was working as the head salesman of another big fraud, which is now operating in Mazatlan, which is the condominiums building in the Golden Zone called Crown Bay, funded by these men named Pardo, well known as laundry money guys. They own several jewelry stores in the Golden Zone and sell alot of the jewelry to drug dealers all around the country. For this reason, it is very possible that this purchase was done with the dirty money of the Pardos, who also are the owners of the Crown Bay Project and are partial owners of the Torrenza Project. Therefore, Manuel Cristerna let these guys use his name to launder the money from the Pardos.

These two projects mentioned above, are a real money laundering center that belong to the Pardos, the Coronels and Sr. Castañeda. These projects have become a huge fraud and a big headache to those who buy any condominium in any of these projects.

None of these crooks mentioned here are Mazatlecos. They only came to Mazatlán to commit fraud and to launder the money from the drug dealers.

At the present time, is well known that these people bought part of La Isla and Hotel Playa Maria using Manuel Cristerna’s name as a convenience. When Cristerna got out of jail, he tried to manage Playa Maria and selling timeshares there, but the Pardo’s threw him out of the Hotel using the police to do so, and now they have named the old Playa Maria hotel, Torrenza Boutique Hotel.

At the present time, it is well known that Cristerna is trying again to sell the villas, condominiums and homes at La Isla.

I hope you will expose this information in the blog site also in English to try to stop these real estate and timeshare frauds in Mazatlán. It is also very important to let the blogger know and to your friends too, that they have to be very careful and do not get involved with anything regarding the Torrenza Project. They also manage the Royal Villas and what used to be Playa Maria regarding the timeshare sales with the direction of another crook named Steven Noland. This Project has no permits, besides being the largest money laundering of the drug dealers in Mazatlán because the construction company named COVI is managed by two crooks named Miguel Coronel (father & son) relatives of the big drug dealer named Nacho Coronel, whom provides the money for the construction of the projects that this company builds in Mazatlán. The construction has been stopped for not having money because this drug dealer Nacho Coronel has escaped from the persecution that the Federal Government has launched against him.

Best regards,
Mazatleco

[valerieh Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close valerieh]

Playa Maria Fraud

Thank you for sharing that letter!

I wanted to share what has happened to my grandparents, owners of the Playa Maria timeshare in Mazatlan, Mexico (now Torrenza Botique Hotel). Regardless of their supposedly legally binding contract, new owners took over the property and tripled their maintenance fees. My grandparents can no longer afford to stay there now. They are not honoring any prior owner's contracts.

In addition, they agreed to sell my grandparents ownership, if they agreed to buy into a less expensive maintenance property. My grandparents gave them $17,000 with the contractual condition their share would be sold within 150 days. That time clause has long passed, and they did not sell their share. Now they not only cannot afford the new maintenance fees, but are out $17k!

It seems like new property owners would have to honor previous agreements, or it would make the entire timeshare industry fall to pieces. It also seems like the Mexican goverment and people would not allow this kind of fraud to continue to take place, given it is alienating the very people to bring important tourism money to Mazatlan.

If anyone is interesting in banning together for a lawsuit or news story (or if you know of a lawsuit already pending) please contact me.

THANK YOU!

[Kentonmag Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kentonmag]

This is the agency that deals with the Timeshare trade in Mexico and you need to contact them, and explain what has transpired.

Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor

If you go down the page, you will find the following text in English and instructions what you need to do if you want want to go through with this.
Attention to foreign residents

Profeco is part of the administrative branch of the federal government of Mexico. Seeks to strengthen the citizen's power and enforces the law to achieve equity on consumption relations.

The Department of Conciliation Services to Foreign Residents (Departamento de Conciliacion a Residentes en el Extranjero C.A.R.E.) provides assistance towards solving controversies arisen between foreign or Mexican citizens living abroad that acquire any product or service from a legally established Mexican supplier and are not satisfied with it.

C.A.R.E. assists the parties within free of charge mediation/conciliation procedures, based upon the terms of the contract that consumer supplies.

To start the conciliation/mediation procedure C.A.R.E. must analyze the documentation submitted by the consumer related to the following information:

1. Complaint letter stating the following:

Consumer: name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail.
Supplier: name and address as stated on the receipt or contract.
Brief description of the complaint, including the date of purchase, cost of the goods or service, and claimed amounts.
2. Completed complaint form
3. Copy of ID (Passport or Driver's License)
4. Copy of contract, invoice payment, bills, credit slips or receipts, as evidence of payment.
5. Copy of additional documents available to support the complaint.

The above information must be e-mailed to: extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx
Or sent by regular mail to:

Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor,
Dirección General de Quejas y Conciliación,
Av. Jose Vasconcélos no. 208, 6º. Piso,
Col. Condesa. Del. Cuauhtémoc,
C.P. 06140, México, D.F.

It is important to stress that all personal and confidential information colleted by Profeco, C.A.R.E., will be considered as non disclosed and protected by our federal laws.
For further information, do not hesitate to contact us at: (+52) 55 5211-1723 or (+52) 55 5625-6633, or write to: extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx

[valerieh Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close valerieh]

Profeco

This is the agency that deals with the Timeshare trade in Mexico and you need to contact them, and explain what has transpired.

Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'll pass this along to my grandparents. They don't use the internet very often, so I think their means of finding assistance are limited.

Thanks again. This is very useful...