The US Department of Justice has charged five leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a violent Mexican criminal organisation, with running weapons and drug trafficking operations alongside a sprawling timeshare fraud scheme that specifically targeted elderly Americans. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other senior Justice Department officials outlined the charges, framing the case as part of a broader crackdown on cartel activity that extends beyond narcotics into financial crimes affecting vulnerable US citizens. The move underscores how cartels have diversified into scams and fraud alongside their traditional drug and weapons operations.

Officials described how the CJNG allegedly used fraudulent timeshare schemes to defraud elderly Americans out of their savings, in addition to running established drug and firearms trafficking networks. The case was announced jointly by the DOJ and other federal agency leaders, reflecting a coordinated law enforcement effort against the cartel's varied criminal enterprises.