Bank fraud in San Miguel de Allende: expats fight to regain US $40 million stolen through Ponzi scheme
In San Miguel de Allende, it is said foreigners live here either because they want to be forgotten, or because there’s no one left to remember them.
This small-town alchemy of anonymity and forgettability laid the groundwork for an alleged decade-long Ponzi scheme estimated to have stolen US $40 million from more than 150 Banco Monex accounts belonging to United States, Canadian, British, European and Australian expatriates.
While several local Mexicans were also embroiled in the bank fraud, the vast majority were among the foreigners who make up 10% of the population in San Miguel, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its historic streets and La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.
As the scope and scale of the fraud begins to unfold, retirees and elderly with little savings and less family support are settling for half or less of their lost funds in restitution, hoping to eke out a life with what little resources they have left.
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