Poster #197 - Sold a Dream, Caught in a Scheme: Cartels, Café Boys, and the Timeshare Hustle

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

This poster investigates transnational timeshare fraud schemes that disproportionately target American tourists, comparing drug trafficking organizations (designated foreign terrorist organizations) in Mexico and transnational organized crime groups in Western Africa. Drawing on case studies, media reports, and criminological theory, the study highlights the convergence of organized crime, drug trafficking, consumer exploitation, and regulatory loopholes in cross-border contexts. Common techniques such as false resale offers, phantom rental promises, and coercive marketing tactics are examined through the lens of cultural criminology and opportunity theory. The analysis underscores how jurisdictional fragmentation and weak enforcement mechanisms enable these schemes to persist, often leaving victims without meaningful recourse. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on international drug trafficking, white-collar and transnational crime by identifying patterns that transcend borders and calling for more robust enforcement polices, consumer protection, international collaboration, and public awareness strategies.

Author

• Mischelle Van Brakle, California State University, Long Beach