According to Newsweek, American sunseekers may have once been tempted by Kovay Gardens, a timeshare resort located on the coast in Nayarit, a small state in western Mexico. With an exclusive beach, poolside bar, gym and Jacuzzi, the resort would have once appeared appealing for well-heeled travelers wishing to luxuriate.
But last Thursday, February 26, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the resort, claiming it was linked to a timeshare fraud network connected to the notorious drug cartel, the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), which the State Department described as a “transnational organization with a presence in nearly every part of Mexico” in February 2025.
In a press release, the Treasury said cartels like the CJNG claim to be third-party timeshare brokers, attorneys, travel or sales representatives, government officials or other professionals linked to timeshares before asking victims for upfront fees or taxes to receive money supposedly owed to them for their timeshares.
In particular, Kovay Gardens, which was previously called Vallarta Gardens, engaged in scams to defraud American timeshare owners by falsely promising them that they could rent out their unused weeks and overcharging credit cards, the Treasury alleged. The agency said Kovay Gardens then shared its customer databases with CJNG-controlled networks.
Newsweek found listings for Vallarta Gardens available at Golden Rentals and Booking.com. Vallarta Gardens was Kovay Garden’s previous name and it rebranded in 2023. These listing addresses were in the same area as Kovay Gardens.
Click here to read the compete, orginal article by Kate Plummer on Newsweek
Source: Newsweek
