Mexican authorities probe alleged scam that wiped out Canadian couple’s retirement savings

Mexican authorities are probing an alleged condo fraud scheme in the tourist hot spot state of Quintana Roo that wiped out a Canadian couple’s retirement savings.

The couple, Cindy Thompson and Glenn Brown of Curve Lake, Ont., sent $280,000 Cdn to a company co-owned by a British and Mexican national who promised big returns on a condo-flip play in Playa del Carmen that never materialized.

Thompson and Brown’s money vanished, along with their retirement plans.

"I’m just overwhelmed by it all," said Thompson, 62.

"We’ll have to work until we die," said Brown, 63.

While the couple hired a local lawyer who filed a criminal complaint, the case seemed to flounder until CBC News raised the issue with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during one of her morning press conferences in late June.

"We’ll look at this particular case that’s [been] raised, but we can say that there is legal certainty, and when there is a problem, for sure, we deal with it," said Sheinbaum.

Within hours, Quintana Roo Gov. Mara Lezama’s administration took up the case. The investigation is now led by Rogelio Estrada Heleria, state deputy prosecutor for the central district. Estrada Heleria did not respond to a CBC News request for comment.

Looking for investment opportunity

The case stems from late 2024 when Thompson, searching the internet for possible real estate investments in Mexico, came across the webpage for XMEX Investments, which was run by a British national named Harry Robinson.

Robinson bills himself as "Licensed in Wealth Building \& Financial Services, Mortgage Broking [sic] \& Real Estate," according to the XMEX website.

Harry Robinson bills himself as 'Licensed in Wealth Building \& Financial Services, Mortgage Broking [sic] \& Real Estate,' according to the XMEX Investments website. (Harry Robinson/Facebook)

CBC News contacted Robinson, who turned down a request for an interview.

"Unfortunately this matter is ongoing through the legal system here in Mexico and I can not make any comment at this time until we have a resolution in the courts," said Robinson, in a WhatsApp message to CBC News.

Thompson said she noticed that "bank-owned" properties — that is, properties repossessed by banks — on the XMEX site were advertised for 30 per cent or more below market value.

"So when I started to look at the individual properties, I thought, hey, this sounds like a really good opportunity, and I wonder who this guy is," said Thompson.

Thompson said she checked into XMEX Investments, saw it was registered in Florida, and believed Robinson was a legitimate businessman.

She reached out to Robinson, who called her back. They spoke multiple times over the course of a couple of weeks before she travelled to Playa del Carmen in October 2024 for a face-to-face meeting.

Thompson, who travelled with her sister, said Robinson introduced them to his business partner, a Mexican national named Jacqueline Herrera Herrera. The two were co-owners of another company called Xen Investments, which is registered in Mexico, according to records.

"He said that he had partnered with Jackie … and that she’s … a well-known lawyer, a well-respected lawyer, and a realtor," said Thompson.

"We had about an hour, an hour and a half conversation, and got to meet them all."

During the conversation, Herrera pitched a one-bedroom condo for sale in a Playa del Carmen building called Taak Maya. Thompson's plan was to live there for a while but eventually sell it.

The Taak Maya condo building in Playa del Carmen was used as part of an alleged fraud scheme now under investigation by Mexican authorities. (Gustavo Huerta/CBC)

Robinson took Thompson to the building, but she couldn't get in to see the condo unit, because Robinson said they didn't have the key.

Still, Thompson sent two installments — in November and December 2024 — totalling $170,000 Cdn to purchase the condo to an HSBC bank account in Mexico connected to Xen Investments.

The purchase agreement was printed on Xen Investments letterhead and signed by Robinson, according to a copy Thompson provided to CBC News.

"I was told that I’d have the keys within two to three months," Thompson said.

She never saw the keys.

'It hurts all of us'

Mexico loses an estimated $48 million Cdn every year to real estate scams, according to the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals.

Wilberth José Gutiérrez Álvarez, president of a separate group called the Mexican Association of the Real Estate Industry, said that the government of Quintana Roo is slowly tightening its regulations around the real estate industry.

Gutiérrez Álvarez said the state government has created a database for licensed real estate agents and firms, along with a registry for realtors who have been sanctioned. However, one can still do real estate business in Quintana Roo without registering for the database.

"There are real estate professionals that know how to do things well, that you can have legal certainty with," he said. "You just have to know who to go to, and sometimes this lack of information is what generates this kind of problem."

Winnipeg native Jason Waller has lived and worked in Mexico for 21 years and is CEO of Christie's International Real Estate Mexico Luxury Properties. He said the safest bet in buying property in Mexico is to go with an established real estate brand. (Tania Miranda Perez/CBC)

"You need someone on the ground that you can trust, that can hold your hand and help you through it," said Waller, who lives in Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo.

"When you’re a legitimate business and you’re trying to do the right things and then somebody else is giving the area a bad name, it hurts all of us that are trying to do things the right way."

'Lie after lie'

While Thompson waited for her condo keys in late 2024 and early 2025, Robinson suggested she join his sales team. He shared leads and property listings, but nothing came of it, Thompson said.

She decided to return to Playa del Carmen in March 2025 to take possession of the condo, but Robinson and Herrera said they couldn’t hand over the keys because there were still some outstanding parts in the process.

"We should be able to get the keys, Jackie’s hoping, in the next few weeks," Robinson told Thompson in a March 3, 2025, WhatsApp voice message, which she provided to CBC News.

"So all good news other than the fact that, you know, it’s a small delay and you won’t be able to actually stay there this trip, but everything’s good."

Then Robinson told her that Herrera had scored an even better deal. He said Thompson's $170,000 investment could go toward a seven-condo purchase in the Taak Maya building in Playa del Carmen that promised a big payout.

In a WhatsApp voice message, Robinson said that they would be buying the seven units for $100,000 US each and then flipping them for $250,000.

"It’s looking like it’s going to be 100 per cent profit," Robinson said in the message.

Thompson’s partner, Brown, then put $110,000 Cdn from his retirement savings into the pot. Brown had a "share purchase agreement" with Xen Investments signed by Robinson and the money went into an HSBC account in Mexico under the company’s name.

But then Robinson told Thompson that Herrera told him one of the investors had died, and that they needed to find someone else to cover the shortfall.

The deal never materialized and the money vanished.

Jacqueline Herrera Herrera was co-owner of a company called Xen Investments, which is registered in Mexico. Herrera pitched the sale of a condo to Cindy Thompson. (Jacqueline Herrera Herrera/Facebook)

"It was lie after lie after lie," said Thompson.

In a July 26, 2025, WhatsApp message to Thompson, Robinson claimed Herrera "was in control of that money 100 per cent" and that "as soon as it hit Xen's bank account … she took it out" for herself.

CBC News could not reach Herrera for comment.

In late May, Herrera messaged Thompson over WhatsApp saying she was in the United Arab Emirates and was "doing everything to return the money" and that Thompson would have it by "July."

Robinson filed a criminal complaint in Mexico against Herrera in fall 2025, claiming he had also been duped.

Meanwhile, Thompson and Brown’s criminal complaint names both Robinson and Herrera.

"It is devastating. I don’t think of anything else," said Thompson. "I’m angry, I feel foolish, frustrated."